Multiversal Chaos: Beginnings of Time
by Xovercreator
Summary: Richard Liu was a mere 15-year old boy who knows a vast portion of the fandom. When the voice of destiny calls him from reality, in order to fight a ancient threat that endangers the entire multiverse, he enters the dimensions, and makes a team to fight. Will he succeed, and become the Multiverse Saviour? Read on and find out! Teen to Mature (Volume 1, read note at Final Chapter)
1. Prologue

Multiversal Chaos: Beginnings of Time

Summary: Richard Liu was a mere 15-year old boy who had known every cartoon, anime, games, and book that is created in history. When the voice of destiny calls him from his home dimension, in order to fight a ancient threat that endangers the entire multiverse, he enters the dimensions, and makes a team to fight. Will he succeed, and become the Multiverse Saviour? Read on and find out!

Prologue: The Birth of a New Saviour

* * *

Richard Liu. A 15 year old Australian-Chinese high-school student has a vast knowledge of the fandoms. He lives in Melbourne in a humble sweet 2-storey home. His own personality is that he's usually kind and shy, but he does tend to get hot-headed and energetic at some situations. He has black straight hair that touches his ears, wears Rayband glasses, about 1.8m tall, and has a slim body frame. He was a very good academic student, and is physically able as a average boy of his age. His personality makes him quite friendly and likeable to everyone,so it has earned him many friends. His school consists of students that are quite unique like him, but only few had been good friends with him. He also, however, have a vivid imagination, as he dreamt of many times being a hero and teaming up with familiar characters. He usually wears a black shirt that has the words "Life is a Never-Ending Story" written in bold white letters, wears a blue jacket with a black vest, wears either black wool pants with white stripes, or black jeans, and wears a white pair of Nike runners. He has a good life, but it was about to turn upside-down when he gets the chance to become a hero of the multiverse.

Richard was finishing his day at his school at St Kilda, and walks past people to the tram stop. He plops down on the green wooden bench that was suspended mid-air by a connection to a wall. When his usual 67 tram came, opening their doors with a ding, he took his bags and scanned his Myki on the onboard scanner. He found a window seat and sat down. He looks outside, looking at the world before him.

' _In fanfiction, there's always something interesting that happens in the world, like an epic adventure or a dimensional war. It's just so boring here. There's no arcades around until they finish renovating that one at Chadstone, and I've got nothing to do at home. Nobody's free, either. Well, Gus is free, but he's quite far away from where I am, so that's out.'_ Richard sighed. I wish something interesting would happen around here for once.

Just on cue on those words, time suddenly stopped around him, everyone except Richard suspended in motion. Richard was surprised as he saw the scene around him. He was about to get off his seat, until a shining sphere of golden light the size of a snooker ball with Navi wings came out through a purple circular portal. Richard saw the sphere waver towards him.

"Please...Help..." The mysterious sphere spoke in a angelic voice.

The entity begins to dim, and lands on Richard's lap.

"You're our only hope..." The sphere begins to glow brightly.

"What!?" Richard said. "But that's what every person like you sa- oh, I'm on a adventure. This is-"

Before Richard could finish, Richard was teleported by a golden beam of light, and time returned to normal, with no side-effects.

Richard was transported into a massive dark temple room like Mnemosyne from Kamen Rider Battride War. From the centre of the room, he could see thousands and thousands of golden doors, each with a logo that resembles the dimensions that it leads to. Richard was familiar with the symbols on the doors. _But,_ He pondered, _Why are these doors marked this way? Are these... doors to the dimensions of my favourites?_

Another golden beam of light ignites the centre,and Richard turned suddenly. When it was gone, a 15-year old girl that had blonde hair that flowed down her back, and was wearing a platinum toga robe with platnium boots to match, making her a shining individual. She also had a daisy stuck in the top-right side of her hair.

"Welcome, child." The girl said. "This is the Core, the nexus of all the dimensions that exist. I am the Creator, the one who made these dimensions what they are."

"I see. But why am i here? I'm not worthy to be in such presence of you." Richard said, kneeling down on one leg, as if he was addressing a queen.

"No. You're the one who will save us. You're the Saviour."

"Say WHAT!?" Richard was surprised that he fell backwards. "Then what evil is lurking then?"

"The Darkness." The Creator replied, with her eyes closed as if reminiscing something. "It is a force so strong that they rival the Heartless, Nobodies, Hollows and even the Kings of Evil themselves. They consume dimensions to return this multi verse to nothingness, including your dimension."

"Yeah, but I can't fight unarmed. Surely you can help?"

"I can't. I must stay here. If I leave, the Darkness will target here, and then all will truly be lost. I can, however, supply you weapons." The Creator waved a hand over a imaginary line, and a white backpack suddenly appeared on Richard's back. Richard put the bag off his shoulders and opened it up. It contained a silver sword and a golden round shield, and some potions. Richard held the sword with a hand and the shield in the other, and did a bit of shadow-fighting in the air, and to his surprise, it was very light and very easy to use, and he then equipped the pendant by putting it around his neck.

"The sword is called Heaven's Will, and the shield is the Gold Barrier. These two items are the best weapon I can get for you, as I know you work best with a sword and shield. They are strong indeed, but they will not be enough to help you against your battle. You must gain the trust of heroes in the multiverse, and band together to fight against the Darkness." The Creator explained the items to him.

"So I'm basically the main hero of a story, destined to go around the universes, and gain the appeal of others, so that I will be able to defend everyone from a evil organisation around the multiverse? I'm literally a protagonist that has the entire idea centred around me?"

"Indeed, yes." The Creator said with a warm smile on her face.

"But... Why me? Creator? Why am I the Saviour? I understand that there's something special about me, but there are many others who can take my place, and do a better job?" Richard asked.

"Because... you see, what sets you from the others, is that you are a very quick learner, and your eagerness to help others and be friendly makes you stand out from the other people in your world. In fact you have a strong desire to be a hero, so it would only be suitable if you would become a hero yourself," the Creator explained.

Richard blushed. "You look so beautiful with that dress and smile."

"Why thank you. Now, shall we begin?" The Creator led Richard to a door with the Triforce symbol on it.

"We're going to Legend of Zelda!?" Richard was surprised

"Indeed. You're going to need allies to fight the Darkness."

Richard saluted, saying in a prideful voice, "Don't worry. I'll save the multiverse and save everyone in it. Even if all I have is only a weapon, and some potions, I will do my best to fit into the role you have set for me. If I'm going to be a saviour, I might as well act as one." He then entered the door, and closed it behind him.

The Creator went back to the centre, before speaking to herself. "Good luck, Richard. I hope you can create a army that can save us all."

* * *

Preview of next Chapter: Hyrulian Warriors Live!

 _Hi there! My name is Richard Liu,and i'm on a quest to save the multiverse. I just met the Creator of the place, and damn, she is be-auuuuuuuuuuutiful! Anyway, I went through to the Legend of Zelda dimension, and it's like a war going over there. Why? BECAUSE IT'S HYRULE WARRIORS AGAIN!_

 **Richard was fighting back horde after horde of moblins before the gates of Hyrule Castle.**

 **"Over here, Link!" Richard shouted while slashing fiercely with his sword, slaughtering all in his path.**

 **"I'm coming!" Link said, while dash-attacking towards him. "Hang on. Impa's almost done taking the keep at the west side."**

 **"Good! Then I can go for the attack with you when she's done."**

 **The two meet, and they attack while back to back, clearing the area within a minute.**

 **"That was eas-" Richard yelled, before a Big Poe fired a blast of ghostly fire towards him, which Richard dodged by leaping to the left.**

 **"Oops. Did I say that too early?"**

 **The monster and Richard began battling.**

(Here's my first story here! Hope you enjoy it, as i will update as soon as i can. Also, if you like your OC in the story, just review a chapter with the description, and remember to say as MUCH as you can about your character, because I don't want to interpret your characters wrong. Also, if you like to decide where the next arcs will be, write it in the review as well, or you can just PM me.)


	2. Chapter 1: Hyruliean Warriors Live

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 1: Hyrulean Warriors Live!

Previous chapter:

 **"Help...me..."**

 **"Welcome to the Core, I am the Creator."**

 **"Don't worry, I'll save the multiverse!"**

 **"Good luck, Richard..."**

* * *

Richard walked through the door, and found himself at a familiar place, Hyrule Castle. He looked around and found out that something is more familliar about this area, as it is empty with a lot of keeps. However, before Richard could make his assumptions, a crowd of Hyruliean soldiers and the heroes Impa, Link, Zelda come out from the gates of the castle, and Richard saw a horde of Zelda enemies. The two armies clashed, and Richard was dragged back by Impa, who had a sour expression on her face and in Hyrule Warriors costume (spoilers, spoilers!), considering she found a boy in the battlefield.

"What are you doing here, boy!?" Impa spoke in a annoyed tone. "Don't you know that this is war you're standing in!?"

"Impa?" Richard replied in a confused tone, while grabbing Impa's hands and calmly putting them off his shoulders. "But you don't look like this unless... Wait... war... new Impa... armies... blades... This is Hyrule Warriors!"

"Hyrule Warriors?" Impa said, while wearing a confused expression, "What's that? And how do you know my name? You don't look like any citizen from our city."

Richard immediately covered his mouth,realising that he just said something that was not meant to be said.

"Well... It would be hard to explain this entire mess, but please, let me try..." Richard said in a worried manner.

Richard told Impa he was sent here to gather allies to save the Multiverse, and he has read about their adventures, explaining his knowledge of the people here.

"And that's how I got here. Mind if I assist you?"

"So basically, you're a multi-verse hero." Impa said, now having a interested look. "But how are you going to fight? You are young and un-"

"Not entirely." Richard pulls out his weapon from his backpack, and shows it to Impa. "This is also a weapon of evil's bane, so killing these minions would be easy."

Suddenly, the same fairy that transported here appeared in a poof next to Richard.

"You?" Richard suddenly said, surprised at seeing the fairy.

"Yeah. Me." The fairy said in a cute and friendly girl voice. "Before I was exhausted getting here, I want to be your navigator."

"Basically my Navi? Well, my girl, you can do as much tips as you want, because I'm going to need them all! What's your name?"

"It's Vai."

"Well Vai, hope you can give me a HUD, because I can't know what to do unless you have something like the game screen."

"Okay." Vai flew around Richard, sparkling fairy dust everywhere on Richard. Suddenly, Richard began to see a display like the one in the game.

"This is the spell Av Naivus." Vai explained. "It gives you a display identical to the game you're playing. Too bad it only works in games."

Richard scanned the map, and saw on the map that Link was surrounded by a horde.

Before Richard could act, time stopped around him, as only he and Vai are not affected by it, as a blue notification box appeared in front of Richard's eyes.

 **To Richard:**

 **I have a few things that I have omitted. I understand that you learn quick, and that I did give you a strong weapon you'll be easily compatible. But it's not going to be enough to help you fight Darkness, let alone fight alongside the heroes of every universe you go to. Using the tiny portion of powers that remain, since almost all my power has been used to keep the Darkness from consuming the universes, I can help to assist you. In this case, I can provide you with the ability to use Musou attacks, Spirit Focus, and Weak-Point Strikes. This should be able to make you strong enough to handle this situation with the other heroes.**

 **I hope this will aid in your journey in becoming a Multiversal Saviour. You're my best hope in saving the multiverse.**

 **Your guardian,**

 **The Creator.**

 **New Ability: Musou Attacks**

 **Musou Attacks are special attacks that are created from a concertration of energy, which allows the user to do a massively strong attack that can wipe out battalions of enemies in a single strike, or defeat enemies that are far stronger than them. In order to use Musou, you must either collect items, or land a certain amount of hits.**

 **New Ability: Spirit Focus**

 **Equivalent to Dynasty Warriors' Rage mode, and Samurai Warriors' Spirit Attack. Allows user to become much stronger, more likely to trigger Weak-Point Strikes and deal more damage to officers and bosses. Requires a full Magic Gauge in order to activated.**

 **New Ability: Weak-Point Strike**

 **By attacking enemies in a weakened state, you are likely to trigger a Weak-Point Strike, which allows you to deal massive damage to enemies, To trigger this, you must find an opening to attack the enemy from, and wither down their Weak-Point Gauge, which will automatically lead to a Weak-Point Strike on the target enemy if the gauge is emptied.**

Richard read through the descriptions that appeared with the message, and smiled.

' _I guess I'm going to owing a favour to the Creator, for giving me the power to fight back. I may not be strong, but when I get used to fighting with Heaven's Will, I will be able to become the person that'll lead them to victory.'_ Richard thought.

Soon time unfroze, as the notification disappeared, and Richard turned to Impa.

"We need to get into the battle. I understand your concerns, but with Hyrule being under attack, even I'm a bit of help that'll be useful for you." Richard said.

"Got it." Impa, as she headed for battle. "When I capture the west keep, two other keeps near Link will open, so make sure you rescued Link by then."

"For you, I'll sweep the entire keep in just a minute!" Richard said teasingly, moving to battle until he ran out of sight.

Meanwhile, Link was surrounded by a group of moblins with a Lizalfos, but was holding his own.

Richard was fighting back horde after horde of moblins before the gates of Hyrule Castle, although he started out doing not so well, as he managed to take a few strikes from their clubs, which bruised him, but did not deter his will to fight.

As he battled, he could feel that he was getting more and more used to the weapon, and immediately took out the Moblins soon enough.

' _So this is the power of Heaven's Will... It not only is strong, but those who wield will learn to use it professionally fast. Add that with my quick learning trait, and it takes me an hour or so to fight well...'_ Richard thought, looking at the slighty-bloodstained blade. ' _As much as I want to be in awe, I'm not out of the woods. If I don't fight, it'll be curtains for me before I can battle.'_

He then saw Link in battle with the enemies!

"Over here, Link! " Richard shouted while slashing fiercely with his sword, slaughtering all in his path.

"I'm coming!" Link said, while dash-attacking towards him. "Hang on. Impa's almost done taking the keep at the west side."

"Good! Then I can go for the attack with you when she's done."

The two meet, and they attack while back to back, clearing the area within a minute.

"That was eas-" Richard yelled, before a Big Poe fired a blast of ghostly fire towards him, which Richard dodged by leaping to the left.

"Oops. Did I say that too early?"

The monster and Richard began battling.

"Come and get me, you sack of possessed clothes!" Richard taunted while doing the "Come at me!" sign.

The Big Poe didn't take the insult well and screeched while charging at Richard, but Richard took advantage of his taunt, and just simply stabbed the sword into where the heart should be, and the monster drops dead onto the grass earth.

"Too easy. Now to take that keep." Richard and Link went to a keep, which was inhabited by hundreds of Moblins who screeched simultaneously at the sight of the two heroes. The two swordsmen wiped out the entire keep, even defeating the Moblin chief that resided there in a minute, like Richard promised Impa, thus controlling the keep where a platoon of Hyruliean soldiers came out of the door.

"By the way, who are you? You look like a young hero like me, but you fight quite well, and what is suspicious is how you know me well." Link asked.

"I'll tell you after we finish this battle. Just trust me. I want to save Princess Zelda as much as I do." Richard said.

Richard and Link moved out of the now ally-controlled keep, and moved towards the Abandoned Fort. There, they saw a red Dragon knight that was fighting Impa, and it looks like that Impa is struggling, giving the knight a chance to knock her down. Just when he was about to finish Impa, Richard rushed into the knight and bashed him out of the way.

"Are you okay, Impa?" Richard called, while pulling up a wounded Impa, who had a gash on the left side of her stomach, that she held onto with her left hand.

"I'm fine." Impa replied whle quivering a bit. "It's just a small wound. I can still fight."

The knight got up, and he was glaring angrily at Richard.

"You must have a wish to join your ancestor to fight me, boy." The unknown knight growled in a deep and gruff voice.

The word 'boy' got Richard's attention, and Richard turned to the knight with a glare that is equally violent.

"And you got no honour fighting women. If you really want a challenge, fight me, Volga." Richard retorted back.

"Volga!?" Impa yelled in a surprised tone. "But I thought that he was a legend."

"Not if he was summoned and controlled." Richard stated. "He's now a general of the Monster Forces. Now Volga, what's your answer?"

Volga simply just lifted his spear towards Richard. "Hmph. I have no time to waste with weaklings like you. Move, and i'll give you a quick and painless death after I-"

Richard just simply rushed at Volga and shield-bashed his spear off, surprising him, and did a hard right hook onto his face, stunning him briefly, and then did a 10-slash sword combo, and finishing with a kick to the chest, sending the knight into the other side of the keep.

"Don't you DARE call me weak, you arrogant demon!" Richard shouted with slight anger, with a bit of his hair turning red. "I am not as weak as a normal soldier, in fact, I have equal power to you."

"Yeah!" Vai added.

Volga simply stands up and begins to glow red. "Get out of my way, boy."

Volga then morphs his right arm into a dragon claw and rushes at Richard, knocking his shield away and clawed at him, sending Richard back into Link, bringing them both down. Impa stands in front of them.

"How noble. Enjoy your shared grave."

Volga raises his spear, and the ground below him begins to erupt.

" _Oh no._ " Impa thought while getting down to wake the two up. " _If that hits us, then all of us will be annihilated."_

Volga then finishes preparing, and fires a stream of magma at the trio, causing a explosion to appear where they were standing.

Volga then smirks under his helmet, and turns to walk away. "Stupid boy. He was no match for me."

"Is that so?"

(Best music from this point: Hyrule Warriors Theme (Legend of Zelda Theme Remix.

Volga turns abruptly to see that a golden barrier is protecting the trio, Link is standing with his right hand out, and Richard putting up his shield, holding their swords, showing the Triforce of Courage on Link's hand.

Impa was stunned at what she saw. "Those symbols on Link's hand... Could it be?"

Volga then turns into a mini-dragoon.

"You haven't beaten me." Volga said in a deeper voice, while flying away. "You've merely hidden behind your shields, human or otherwise."

"COME BACK HERE!" Richard roared with pure rage, with half of his hair glowing red. "I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU, YOU FUCKING CORRUPT, COWARDLY, HONOURLESS ASSHOLE!"

After Volga left, Richard then scanned his HUD, showing that a Goron Captain was in trouble.

"Link! We need to assist a Goron Captain at the north side of the battlefield!" Richard called to Link, waving his sword like a hand. "We can use the Abandoned Fort to get there quicker!"

"Got it!" Link yelled, regrouping with Richard. After the two moved towards the distressed Goron Captain, and slashing through groups of Moblins.

The generic Goron Captain was being assaulted by a Lizalfos, which Richard dispatched without ease.

"Thanks!" The Goron captain said. "There was some treasure in the cave behind me, so you can have that as a token of my gratitude."

"Treasure? That is the bomb weapon that Link and I need! Come on Link!"

The two heroes rushed down the ancient passageway, and collected the item in the chest, which was the famous Bomb.

 **NEW ITEM: Legend of Zelda Bomb. (Epic Quality)**

 **This bomb is used in LoZ games, and can be used identically to a contact grenade, or a time bomb. They are famous for their abundance in stock and their explosive power.**

Right when the two equipped the bombs, they heard a rumbling noise from the entrance. The Moblins had covered the entrance by tipping boulders. They cackled evilly, unaware that the two had bombs to blow them up.

"Time to test the bombs, Link." Richard cooed in a sly voice.

The two bombed the boulders in the entrance, with Richard throwing the relatively small bombs without much ease, and got out.

"Hey, we can use the bombs to blow the boulders that are blocking out the rest of the battlefield." Link suggested to Richard.

"Good idea!"

The two went to the gate of the West Field Keep, which was obstructed by boulders. The two simply blew the boulders by throwing bombs, and then took back the keep.

Afterwards, Impa rushed to Zelda's side, keeping in front of her, protecting her from a horde of Moblins.

"Princess! Thank goodness!" Impa puffed, with slight exhaustion. "If it wasn't for these two heroes, i would have failed to get to you."

Zelda examined Link and Richard, and pronounced "These two? Well, from the smallest seed comes the great trees, i guess."

"You're welcome. It's always a great honour to help the great and fair princess Zelda" Richard humbly said, with a deep bow and a great smile. "Come Link. We found a supply fort, full of jars you might want to smash, considering that those attacks might have been painful."

The two went around the fort, and collected hearts, Triforce shards, but what caught Link's eye was a green potion bottle.

"What's this?" Link queried, while holding the potion up.

"It's a magic bottle. Gives you strength to go wild with full power." Richard explained.

Link drank the potion, and immediately got a slight rush of power.

The two met with Zelda, only for Richard to have a worried expression.

"Looks like the commander of the enemy doesn't like our cheek." Richard announced. "Because reinforcements came, and they are hostile."

"How do you know this?" Zelda asked Richard.

"It's... a special power that I have. It allows me to distinguish enemy from ally, and the battle situation now. So far, your army's on a losing battle, unless we help them." Richard lied.

Zelda just simply sighed at this, and asked Richard, "Can you take the Central and East Keep, while i seek help?"

Richard was wearing a know-it-all expression, and responded. "From the Great Fairy? You're going to need me, if you are going to get the entrance open. Hey Link?"

Link was drinking another Magic bottle, and groggily mumbled "Yeah?"

"Go and deal with the Central and East keeps, while I get the Great Fairy to bomb the others to kingdom come, please?"

Link just shrugged, and went away to go and capture keeps.

Richard and Zelda went through, the two of them fighting bravely, Richard with sword and shield, and Zelda with graceful rapier. However, the enemies still surrounded them.

' _Okay, time to test this new skill of mine.'_ Richard thought, as he willed his power into the blade, as it began to glow golden, as he unleashed his Musou, as he dashed through the enemies, and left behind a golden orb of slashes that tear the enemy apart.

 **New Skill: Purgatory**

 **A custom Musou created by Richard. Is affiliated to Light element. The Musou invloves the user dashing through the enemies, leaving a sphere of golden cuts that lasts 5 seconds.**

By the time the duo reached the entrance of the Fairy Fountain, Richard simply blew the boulders covering the entrance, and Zelda went to a Magic circle near the fountain, and chanted Hyruliean chants, which activated the circle.

"Come!" Zelda called. "We need to pray together to the Fairy to work! Just repeat every chant I make, and you'll be able to help assist in summoning the Great Fairy!"

"Understood." Richard said. "I'll do my best to help you, princess."

Richard came over, and repeated the same set of prayers along with Zelda.

A light appeared in the middle of the fountain, and the natural Great Forest Fairy came, with a floral tribal cloth, and then cast her fairies to collect the bombs. The fairies got as much bombs as they can, and formed a massive rune covered bomb, and threw it down onto the northern keeps, severely damaging the influence in them.

"We did it!" Zelda cheered. "The bomb destroyed a great portion of the enemy forces."

"Yeah." Richard agreed, scanning his HUD. "We took down the central guard. Time to strike the commander!"

"Time for me to go. It's dangerous here now."

Zelda used Farore's Wind to teleport out of the battlefield, leaving a trace of magical sparks.

Richard exited the fountain area, and met Impa and Link at the northern side, having taken all keeps except the enemy main camp.

They then heard the ground rumble, and King Dodongo appeared from the Central Keep, burning the troops there.

"We have to go!" Richard yelled, while moving to the Central keep.

When they got there, the army was pelting the beast with arrows, but King Dodongo shrugged them off, and used a stiff paw to wipe a platoon of soldiers.

"Use the bombs when his mouth opens! He's weak in the stomach!" Richard informed the soldiers, and the other heroes.

The three heroes rushed in, and commenced assault with the giant creature, putting bombs through his mouth, assaulting him when he was weak, and avoiding his attacks.

Richard then began to charge his power, and then released it in a golden aura.

"SPIRIT FOCUS!" Richard shouted with his strongest voice.

Richard then threw bombs at a inhuman speed into King Dodongo's open mouth, and then assualted him with a series of fast slash combos, finishing off with a Spirit Weak-point Strike, where Richard bounded into great heights, and then turned into a shining white comet, as Richard does a golden slash onto King Dodongo, finishing him off.

The entire army cheered for Richard and Link. But then, a frightened general came over to Impa.

"I-Impa!" The general stuttered. "Zelda...S-she's g-gone!"

"What!" Impa cried with pure fear. "So it was a distraction. Where is she?"

"She's disappeared from her castle!"

Just then, a moblin tries to attack Link, just before Richard slashes it down. Impa then comes to the two, and insisted "I must ask for you to help us again. Are you two willing?"

"I'm in." Link chipped.

"Definitely, and we need to go to Eldin Caves." Richard answered.

"Why?" Impa questioned.

"Because, we will find someone who can find her there, and a way to Faron Woods, where we will find a powerful ally."

"I see. Link?"

Link turns around and sees Impa holding green robes.

"You're the descendant of the legendary hero, and so you deserve this robe worn by him." Impa said.

Link took the robe, and the three heroes took their men to head for the caves, oblivious to the dark shadow that watches them.

Chapter End.

 **(A/N: That's the first chapter of the Hyrule Warriors Arc. The reason why I chose this game was because the variety of skills each character possesses there. And the quality on the bomb? I'll hint you where I got it. It's from a mobile MMO bulletin game with monsters, and that's how all items will be ranked from now on. Don't forget to PM me if you want your OC in there, or a vote for the next arc after this. No Mary Sues please, and my character will soon be flawed, don't you worry.)**

Preview of Next Episode: Darkness at Eldin Cave

 _Hello all! I met with the Hyrule Warriors Link and Impa, and downed a whole army and King Dodongo thanks to my allies and some power given to me with love from the Creator, pun intended. We are now heading down to the Eldin Caves to find Sheik, if I know the game well, but that's not all down there..._

 **Richard dashed through the horde of Skeletons, while escorting a peachy Bombchu, unscratched thanks to Richard and Link's help.**

 **They both reached the stone pillar, and the Bombchu was set on the pillar, before exploding a chorus of colourful explosions.**

 **"That's all the pillars. Everybody, advance!"**

 **Richard did a "Charge!" pose, and then rushed to the other side of the lava river, and the rest of the army followed.**

 **Just when they reached the other edge of the pillar, Richard then froze at a familiar sight, with a fearful expression.**

 **"It can't be-"**


	3. Chapter 2: Darkness at Eldin Caves

The only stages that will be in this arc are the prologue stages up to the activation of the portals, except I will actually make a short end so that I don't have to go into this story for too long. And this will be the first mentions of gore, although it will still be slightly Teen to Mature. The only M rating is of violence, gore and swearing.)

In the previous chapter:

 **"This is Hyrule Warriors!"**

 **"Over here, Link!"**

 **"Get out of my way, boy."**

 **"Those symbols on Link's hand and Richard's hand...Could it be?"**

 **"SPIRIT FOCUS!"**

 **"You're the descendant of the legendary hero, and so you deserve this robe worn by him."**

* * *

After defeating King Doldongo, and the Dark Army above ground, the trio of heroes, Link, Richard and Impa make towards the Eldin Caves, as Richard hints that there is a new ally there to help them.

The trio arrive at the caves few weeks later, just in time for a announcement from a generic Hyrulean Captain that a girl magician is leading a force against the Dark Army at Faron Woods. The trio had made towards a Goron bazaar...

"Look!" Richard said, in a new look, wearing steel knight armour with the Hyrulean crest on the chest-plate. "There's a bazaar here!"

"Hi!" The shopkeeper Goron called in a cheery and gruff voice. "What do you wish to buy from my wares?"

Richard looked through the cabinets and stands full of items, but a glass bottle of red liquid caught his eye.

"I'll take that item there." Richard bartered while pointing at the bottle.

"You wish to buy a Fairy Potion? That's 5000 rupies. It's very good for revitalizing you, and refills every 10 minutes"

"Good." Richard answered while dropping a bag full of rupies of different colours. "This is my share of the "earned" rupies from the last battle. It's enough to pay."

The Goron just simply smiled, and gave Richard the potion.

 **New Item: Fairy Potion**

 **The potion is made from Fairy Dew, which is the nectar of Fairies. This item can revive or heal a person by 75% of their max health, but refills slowly at the rate of 10 minutes.**

Richard uncorked the bottle, and gulped a quarter of the nectar, and soon got a feeling that he was blessed with energy and recuperated some of his energy, while moaning lovingly.

(Best theme at this point: Eldin Caves (Hyrule Warriors))

The army then did a slow march towards the exit of the caves. Unfortunately, some of the platoons were restless from walking slowly, and rushed forward leaving the others behind. The three heroes made their way to catch up to them, but then the Dark Army appeared, engaging all the platoons, and even attacked the platoon that was trapped from their companions due to the West Square being closed on them. While Richard did combo after combo of attacks onto the enemy, he saw a ancient core-like structure that is humming a red evil aura, and guarded by skeletons and a Chief Skeleton. At that time, Vai flew out of Richard's pocket.

"This is a Outpost." Vai explained in the same chippy voice. "It spawns units continuously for the side holding it. So far, the Dark Army has the Outpost, so in order to capture it, you must defeat the Outpost Captain that is guarding it."

"Thanks for the advice, Vai." Richard answered warily, while preparing his sword to do a charge attack. "But I know this well."

Richard then rushed into the handful of skeletons and sliced through them towards the outpost Captain, a Chief Skeleton. He then slashed into the monster's steel shield, which caused some sparks to fly when sword and shield meet, and then after a amount of time, Richard cut through the shield, leaving it into two clean halves, and then proceeded to attack the monster's chest area, before it fell away defeated. The Outpost changed to a warm blue aura, and some Hyruliean soldiers with a Hyrulean Captain instantly appeared, while soldiers slowly but surely poured out of the area.

"These caves, no matter how many we cut," The trapped Hyrulean Captain at the West Square nervously faltered, "There's more coming out!"

 **"Hyrule Captain's morale fell due to being surrounded by monsters."** A message popped in Richard's AR display.

"This isn't good..." Richard bemoaned. "We need to take care of the keeps taken by he Dark Army now! Impa, Link, follow me!"

The aforementioned two cut down the horde that they were working on, and joined Richard while they rushed through to the West Square gate, where they saw the stranded Hyrulean captain and his platoon fighting a horde of skeletons, but the platoon were faltering.

"It's looks like they need our help, but we can't go through due to the keep being locked." Link commented with a worried expression.

"Then we will find a way through. I saw that there was a cracked wall, so we can make a way through that." Richard assured with a calm voice.

The trio then went back, and moved to the cracked wall, while hearing that the soldiers had teamed up and defeated a Big Poe.

"Good to know that the soldiers are capable of fighting off the larger monsters after all." Richard smirked, while running.

"I trained them myself." Impa replied in a stoic tone. "They are strong enough to take down a horde along with them if it comes to that case."

They then reached the wall, and threw bombs at it, creating a open hole and a path to the West Square.

"There." Richard declared while dusting his hands off. "Now Impa, you come with me to save the good Captain, while you, Link, take care of the South Square which is controlled by the Dark Army as well."

"I usually hate being ordered." Impa complained in a slightly irritating tone. "But you're a huge asset, so trusting you is best."

"Nice!" Link agreed with a happy tone. "I'll get it done before you are finished saving the Captain."

Richard and Impa rushed off to the West Square, while Link cut his way to the South Square with a joyful face.

The two also took every outpost on the way, leaving a metaphoric trail of blue behind them. Impa showed off her giant sword, swing ing it into the ground and even kicking the sword back into her sheath, while Richard did multiple spin slashes and shield bashes. They made it to the West Keep where Richard fought a Lizalfos, where Richard simply stunned the lizard anthro, before plunging the sword into the creature's heart, causing it to fall, before Richard stepped on the corpse, pulling out his sword with a still-beating blue heart spurting purple blood.

"That's cruel, even if they deserve it." Impa blurted in a annoyed tone.

"All fair in love and war, Impa." Richard rebutted with a smirk, while twirling and twisting the sword. "If you don't have the intent to kill, like they did to the Sheikah tribe, then you aren't as stoic as I thought."

"What?" Impa yelled in a angry voice, which she rarely used. "How do you know about my tribe?"

"I know many things, Impa, and even know who Sheik, a member you are unaware of, really is."

"..."

The duo were heavily thanked by the Hyruliean Captain, and Link returned, saying that he had cleared the keep, making it a foothold for the forces, before more Dark Army forces appeared on the other side of a magma river.

"This river is impeding our progress to the exit." Impa muttered sorrowfully. "If only we can move the pillar, which can form a bridge that can get us across."

Richard thought about it for a while, before remembering something.

"Follow me." Richard expressed with a warm smile.

Link just simply smiled, and followed Richard back to the entrance, where a Goron Captain with a Bombchu were.

"We'll help!" The Goron Captain appealed. "Rocks are no match for our Bombchu."

"Thanks for the help then." Richard simply answered with a grin.

The Goron Captain then proceeded to activate the machine, and the Bombchu started up, whizzing slowly but surely to the pillar, but their advance did not go unnoticed, as some factions of the Dark Army had moved to intercept.

"They're after the Bombchu!" The Goron Captain wailed while flailing his chubby arms about. "Help us, friend!"

"Just about what I'm going to do!" Richard answered while rushing to intercept the forces with Link.

Richard dashed through the horde of Skeletons, while escorting a peachy Bombchu, unscratched thanks to Richard and Link's help.

They both reached the stone pillar, and the Bombchu was set on the pillar, before exploding a chorus of colourful explosions.

"That's all the pillars. Everybody, advance!"

Richard did a "Charge!" pose, and then rushed to the other side of the lava river, and the rest of the army followed.

Just when they reached the other edge of the pillar, Richard then froze at a familiar sight, with a fearful expression.

"It can't be-"

(Flashback: Before entering the Caves.)

 _Richard was walking to the caves with his army and friends, when Vai suddenly struggled in his pocket, which informed him that she has something to say. He let Vai out in the same manner as Link does with Navi._

 _"The Creator wants to talk to you." Vai said in a slightly more serious tone, before swishing into a rectangle motion, which then formed a magic screen from the trail of fairy dust, that showed The Creator back at The Core smiling and waving to Richard._

 _"Hi Mrs Creator! It's been a while since I first entered this world. Maybe a month or two? I had training from both Impa and Link that made me quite strong. In fact, I could happily say that I can pull my weight around here, being as strong as the other captains of the forces in a fair spar, without the use of Spirit Focus. However, Impa's training was plain harsh, making me attack her while she just bashes me to the ground. It was painful, to say the least, being a utter test of physical endurance and skill. I'm still healthy and alive though, thanks to a little elixir that I brought from the Bazaar, with the Rupees earned from the last and Impa also did not fall behind, as I heard they had gotten better weapons from the Bazaar with a few enhancements. I also managed to get permission to take a small squad with me." Richard addressed while waving back._

 _The Creator smiled at Richard, before the smile then disappeared. "I like to talk about the Darkness, and what forms they take." She commented, while creating a image of a dark black sphere in Richard's mind._

 _"So that's their pure form?" Richard said while examining the image in his mind._

 _"Indeed. But they can take the form of beings in whatever world you are in. It either turns the being into a dark version of itself, or become a splitting dark image of the heroes they take."_

 _Richard then pictured the Dark Aeralfos in his mind, noticing the similarities between the description and the image, before implying, "So it's like the Dark Aeralfos thing, right?"_

 _"Correct." The Creator agreed. "But remember, they can take any form they want as long they had consumed or took their image. And they are not to be underestimated. If you fight enemies boosted by them, be very cautious. They can be anywhere, in groups or alone."_

(Present Time)

" _And I'm seeing a shitload of them."_ Richard thought, while seeing a bunch of Dark skeletons, which are truly dark black all over, even their shields and swords, and a Dark Big Poe, which was all black too, save for the lantern and their blue gleaming eyes. The three heroes staggered slowly back, but more Dark skeletons surrounded them. Richard, Link and Impa touched backs, as if to begin to fight to their last man, when they heard a heavenly lyre tune play. The three heroes turned to the source of the voice, which is a golden-haired woman that wears the Sheikah armour and robes, wears a scarf that obstructs every part of her face except her red-irised eyes, and has a lyre in her hands. She then jumped down and unleashed musical wave barrages at the monsters.

"The princess Zelda is not dead." The mysterious woman exclaimed without any hostility in her voice. "You'll reunite with her at some point in your journey, but not quite yet. You can call me Sheik. It's a name that comes from the Sheikah tribe, who are servants to the Hyrulean Royal Family"

Richard then smiled, and reached out a hand, and warmly appealed, "Then you may become our ally, if you have the same goal as us."

Sheik took Richard's hand and shaken it sincerely.

Impa, however, was wearing a suspicious look, and questioned Sheik with a bit of confusion, "The Sheikah tribe, that's impossible. No-one except me had been sent out of the remnants of our village."

Just then, the cave begins to rumble, and Sheik maintaining her calm posture, "We can talk more once we get out of the caves. Follow me."

The four heroes moved on from the location, and moved towards the exit of the cave. Richard then stopped with a surprised look,

"Looks like there's more monsters, and they are summoned at the entrance. It's not good to let them advance into our forces, so we'll need to stop them. Impa, com with me, and we'll hold back the pincer force, while you two, Link and Ze-no,Sheik, support the advance of the units."

Impa simply nodded, and followed Richard, while Link and Sheik moved on to take care oft he front forces.

The two heroes at the front line went through a tunnel full of crystals, while fighting enemies and capturing outposts. They reach the Tunnel Square, and captured it to get the South Gate that is blocking their way to open, but the gate remained closed, and Richard and Impa returned from ridding the pursuing force.

Richard then noticed a sudden increase in the amount of monsters on the field. He then called to Impa, Sheik, and Link, "Come on! We need to defeat the Spirit of the Cave! It's the only way that gate will open!"

" _Come to think about it,"_ Link pondered quietly, " _The Spirit of the Cave made a magic gate here once. Perhaps defeating him will open it..."_

Richard and Impa made their way through a secret passage that had many turns, while Sheik and Link defended the Tunnel Square they recently captured, and Richard was beginning to get physically tired of running around.

"Goddamnit, *huff* why is there so many tunnels that are this long? *huff*" Richard huffed wheezing.

They then saw a white version of the Big Poe, namely the Spirit of the Caves. The monster then noticed the duo, and then began to fire barrage after barrage of dark flames at them, with most missing, except for two that caught Richard by both shoulders, which made Richard then clutch the wounds, which left a black mark on the armour.

"Damn. Those flames hurt like heck, as if I was stung by 10 wasps simultaneously." Richard hissed.

Richard then got up, and slashed at the Big Poe, which then floated out of Richard's reach and then fired at him again, but Richard was prepared, and dodged the flames before getting close and stabbing it in the centre. The Spirit of the Cave then faded away, leaving a white robe on the floor.

'Time to go. The gate should be open by now." Richard informed.

The duo moved back to the gate, where the Tunnel Square was still under ally control thanks to Link and Sheik. The gate was also open, so the army moved forward, only to see that there was another river, and there were two pillars stuck together.

"Drat!" Link cursed. "Another river, and we need two Bombchus this time to destroy this column!"

"That's not a problem. There's a Bombchu coming thanks to that Goron Captain, and there's another one we can activate." Richard answered calmly. "Follow me, Link."

Link gladly obligated, while Impa and Sheik once again drive the approaching force away. There were also some dark units in the pursuit force this time, but Impa and Sheik knocked back the forces.

"Come to think about it," Impa declared, seizing this opportunity to privately ask Sheik. "There were no-one known as Sheik in my tribe. Yet you know my race. What is the meaning behind this?"

"You'll see..." Sheik replied with a slight glimmer of a smile under her mask.

Meanwhile, The Goron Captain activated his Bombchu as Richard predicted, and Richard and Link found a Bombchu at Central Square, but they were obstructed by skeletons in the keep. This posed no problem, however, for the swordsman duo, and they cleared the keep in a matter of time, and activated the Bombchu, with Richard escorting it, and Link supported the other one. The two Bombchus met at their destination, and they exploded in a bigger chorus of explosions than the one before, knocking the pillar down and forming a path down the river. On the other side, however, Wizzro appeared, dressed in a purple robe, and the eye-mouth still glaring red at the forces.

"Kyahahahaha!" The monster wizard cackled while his only eye turned into a mouth, with his rotten teeth showing. "You rats will die for our Lord Ganon!"

He then morphed his right arm into a huge monster claw and slashed at the army, knocking away everyone except for the four heroes, who guarded the attacks, Richard and Link with their shields, and Impa with her blade, and Sheik with a pulse of musical waves. The arm clanged against the metal of the shields and blade, causing sparks to rise, and Richard was knocked back slightly, while the others were unmoved.

"What!?" Wizzro exclaimed frowning. "Maybe you aren't as puny as I thought. No matter, I will kill you all for my Lord!"

"We need to combine our attacks if we are going to defeat him!" Richard explained, while raising his sword to attack. "On my count, assault him with attacks that will knock him in the air!"

"Why?" Impa questioned.

"Because he's weak in the air, being unable to counter or defend!"

Richard then rushed to Wizzro, who then used the claw to try and bash Richard down, but Richard just blocked with the shiled in one hand, and then slashed fiercely upwards, sending the wizard monster in the air.

"NOW!" Richard yelled.

Sheik began to fire streams of notes at the monster, while Link and Impa jumped to slash Wizzro upwards, putting him higher in the air. Richard then activated a Weak-point Strike, which made him leap high into the air, and grab Wizzro by his collar, then stash his weapons, before giving Wizzro a barrage of punches and knees to the face, before finishing off with a double-handed bash on Wizzro, sending him flying onto the ground.

"That's how it's done!" Richard boasted, while striking a pose, where he did the peace sign with his right hand towards the monster, and his left hand pumped up into a fist.

Wizzro warily got up, his clothes beaten.

"You wretched...boy..." Wizzro coughed. "This is far from over... We'll meet again soon, and that time, i'll kill you and your meddling friends."

He then vanished in a puff of purple smoke. By then, the stragglers of the Dark Army were defeated, and the army proceeded to the exit.

"We did it!" Richard cheerily announced.

"All thanks to you and your contribution." Link replied. "If it wasn't for you finding that Bombchu that was abandoned, we would be stuck and defeated."

Richard then blushed with a smile, and muttered a "Heh." while rubbing his head in gratitude. He then pulled out a weapon that was similar to the one Impa has, but it was encrusted with sapphires on the hilt.

"I also found this when I was fighting a Outpost Captain." Richard said. "Should be a improvement from the weapon you have."

Impa just smiled, and took the blade, swinging it to test if it had any difference, only to see that the blade was lighter, enabling her to attack faster.

"You have my gratitude, young Saviour." Impa complimented.

"Please, just call me Richard."

The four heroes then did their victory poses, Link raised high by Epona holding his sword, looking like a legendary knight, Impa kicking her blade into her hilt, and smiling, Sheik playing a random tune from Legend of Zelda games, then throwing a smoke bomb, and disappearing in a puff of smoke, and Richard twirling the sword in his right hand, and then smiling to the screen, with the Creator standing beside him. (Look in All victory poses in Hyrule Warriors videos to have more detail about Link's, Impa's and Sheik's victory poses. Richard's pose is original and non-canon.)

 **VICTORY!**

The four heroes then exited the cave, and moved onto the next area, Faron Woods.

Chapter END.

* * *

A/N: By the way, any of the people, places, items are owned by their individual companies. I only own my OC, the Creator, a OOC version of God, and other OCs are owned by their individual authors. Also, don't forget that you can submit your OCs into the stories, and even suggest the next arc of the story. Criticism is needed for this story to be refined, so fire away all your inner complaints about this.

Preview of Next Chapter: Richard Rescues Lana At Faron Woods

 _Hi all! It's been a while since I made my latest battle at Eldin Caves. I met the most hated annoying monster wizard, Wizzro, and also met the Darkness taking form in front of me. They were hell scary, but I didn't become a hero and saviour to back down at terrors like these. We are now at Faron Woods, home of the Great Lana. I know that she is actually a split personality of the original Sorceress of Time, and she's quite cheerful for her life. Be lucky that there weren't any perverts, or they would be clobbered by me, or any of the strong ladies, Impa or Sheik, and even Lana if that person pisses her off, and I hate to see her pissed, both because of the power she wields. What's going to happen at the Woods? Find out in the next chapter!_

 **Richard and Lana shot continuously at the eye of the Gohma many times when the monster was recovering from his laser attack, which caused it drop its guard, and they took the moments to attack and dish out serious damage.**

 **After a while, Richard and Lana were exhausted at defeating the Gohma, with Lana having a bit of a frizzled hair from tiredness, and Richard panting like crazy, while his head was lurched down.**

 **"Did we finish it?" Lana asked.**

 **"Maybe." Richard replied in a stoic tone, not showing his fatigue.**

 **The Gohma was then enveloped suddenly by a blanket of darkness, which caused the duo to look in shock at the transformation. The blanket writhed and wobbled, before being absorbed by the Gohma, which stood up, now in a shade of utter black, with only its purple eye that is not black.**

 **"Oh shit..." Richard uttered in despair.**


	4. Chapter 3: Richard Rescues Lana

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 3: Richard Rescues Lana At Faron Woods

In the Previous Chapter:

 **"I know many things, Impa, and even know who Sheik, a member you are unaware of, really is."**

 **"Hi Mrs Creator! It's been a while since I first entered this world. I had training that made me as strong as a lieutenant, although Impa's training was plain harsh, making me attack her while she just bashes me to the ground. Link and Impa also did not fall behind, as I heard they had gotten better weapons from the Bazaar with a few enhancements."**

 **"Damn. Those flames hurt like heck, as if I was stung by 10 wasps simultaneously."**

 **"You'll see..."**

* * *

 _Current Music: Faron Woods (Hyrule Warriors)_

The trio of heroes, Richard, Impa and Link, advance to Faron Woods with a new ally, Sheik, who unbeknownst to all but Richard, to be Zelda, who actually escaped capture. But this time, they are not fortunate to run into another Goron Bazaar, as Richard had triple the amount of rupees he earned from the battle at Hyrule Castle, thanks to the previous battle. Luckily, the backpack he wears is a hammer-space pocket, and it did not hinder his movement.

When they made it to the woods, it was swarmed by monsters who are attacking the local villagers. The Hyruliean army sprang into action. While Richard was cutting down wave after wave of goblins, he saw that a Hyruliean soldier was surrounded by goblin warriors. Richard tried to move over to support the distressed soldier, but then another wave of goblins, this time being Dark goblins instead of the normal ones.

"Damnit! Get out of my way!" Richard swore while swinging at the approaching dark horde who are preventing from rescuing the soldier.

The circle of goblins around the soldier tightened, and the soldier began to seriously panic, when suddenly, a rain of magic bolts fell onto the field, hitting all the goblins and sending them flying. A cyan-haired girl with lavender eyes, dressed in a blue bra, a purple skirt with a sapphire on the centre of its band, blue boots that have miniature angel wings on them, white sleeves, a blue cape, and wears a blue and red ribbon stuck on her ponytail. She is Lana, the gooder half of the now-separated Sorceress of Time in Link's world. She helped the soldier up, and then looked at Link, who successfully slashed consecutively at goblins.

"You..." She uttered in surprise.

The four heroes then got in front of Lana's sight, with Richard having a strong smirk on his face.

"Are you the one that is leading the forces here?" Impa questioned in her usual manner.

The soldier then walked away, and went to fight more.

"Yes, I am." Lana replied in a polite manner.

"You can use magic. Where did you learn your craft, and who taught you it?" Impa queried.

"Oh, well... I'm a sorceress. You know who started this war? Cia? We came from the same magical clan, but she uses her magic for evil." Lana

"Then who is this "Cia"? And what does she want with Hyrule?" Impa questioned curiously.

"I can explain."

Everyone turns to Richard, who just spoke.

"I can tell you everything about Lana and Cia, but it's long. So I'll tell you after we finish this battle." Richard advised.

The other heroes simply nodded. They departed from the West Square, where not long after, they bumped into a Deku Baba.

"Why is that plant spewing poison to the surrounding area?" Sheik questioned, addressing the plant in front of them.

"That's a Deku Baba! Unless you can shoot it at a long range with a sharp object, it will kill you by poisoning!" Lana blurted frighteningly.

"In that case, we better lend a hand." Impa decided with confidence. "It'll help the army advance."

The heroes tried to attack the Deku Babas, but Link's sword, Richard's blade, Sheik's barrage of musical waves, Lana's sorcery, and even Impa's giant blade cannot even scratch the ungodly plant.

"Poisonous weeds...They negate our attacks." Sheik sighed. "We need to use another strategy."

"Then we're going to need a ranged weapon. Follow me!" Richard expressed with faith.

The heroes followed Richard, while taking down some of the enemy vanguard, and witnessing more Deku Babas limiting their advance.

"We can't advance with these plants spewing poison!" Richard exclaimed. "We need to find the bow now!"

They eventually made it to the south-west tree, which had a pathway that led to a golden chest. They opened, and inside, was bows for the heroes, especially one that is coated in gold and filled with ancient Greek runes, which glowed in reaction to Richard's symbol on his hand.

"What...what is this?" Richard said, while Vai began to shake once again. Richard let Vai out again, and she did the usual, opening a magical channel to the Creator.

"Oh sorry. I forgot to mention that there is also some unique weapons that only you can use." The Creator explained in her usual polite tone. "This is Artemis, a bow that I hid in this chest, as I expected that at a point, you'll need a ranged weapon."

"And I'm proud of your gift, dear Creator." Richard expressed cheerfully. "I thank you to the deepest of my heart, for giving me things like this to become a hero."

Richard then put the bow on a pocket of the bag, so that he can take it out when needed. The rest of the heroes took the bows that remained.

 **NEW ITEM: LoZ Bow (Epic)**

 **This bow is renowned by its ability to fire perfect shots, and encompasses multiple arrows if needed. It is one of the most accurate bows in the video-game universe.**

 **NEW RELIC EQUIPMENT: Artemis (Ultimate)**

 **A bow that is once used by the god of the same name. It is quite strong compared to other man-forged bows, as it can shoot divine light arrows without limit, and cannot be taken off its owner.**

The five heroes moved back to the battlefield, and made their way to the Deku Babas. Richard prepared his bow and tensed the string with no arrow on it. However, a arrow of light appeared on the quiver, and Richard shot it right in the centre of the plant's forehead. To everyone's surprise, the plant let out a dying roar, before turning into a withered brown colour.

"Looks like this bow carries enough power to send them packing. Let's go!" Richard said while smirking at the performance.

The heroes then moved around the battlefield, using bows to strike the Deku Babas, except that Richard was literally using his bow to fire on the enemy troops, shooting at a fast speed thanks to the fast materialization of arrows. To Richard's surprise, the arrows of both a regular Bow and Richard's is that they pierce through weak enemies easily, with the addition of Richard's shots being a portable smite-cannon, with the light arrows. When they got rid of the last Deku Baba blocking their path, Lana sighed in utter relief, as the poison has dissipated, allowing the troops to advance.

"Everyone's getting tired of dealing with the enemy." Lana inquired. "It's best if we recuperate at the Great Deku Tree."

"Will do. Impa and I will hold off anyone that will even try to scratch you." Richard cheerily said, while rushing behind Lana, and forming a defensive line with his squad. "Besides, to be honest...You're very beautiful."

Lana gasped at Richard's compliment, in which the person is blushing slightly while tugging the metaphorical collar, and then giggled happily before replying. "And you would be my shining knight in armour for a long time."

She then turned around and rushed for the Deku tree, while Richard blushed harder.

"Captain!" The squad second-in-command called while rushing up to him, a tall man that has brown hair. "What are your orders?"

Richard noticed the man, and stopped blushing. He then took a serious tone, bellowed. "Orders are, to keep those vile creatures off the lady Lana!"

"YESSIR!" The squad's soldiers cried pridefully in response, morale high, and lifted their weapon as a sign of loyalty and honour.

"CHARGE!" Richard said, while pointing his sword out and holding his shield well ready.

The 20-man squad rushed at the overwhelming legion of monsters, and dispersed them far apart, with the addition of Impa's units assisting the defense.

After a while, the advancing Dark Army troops were decimated, with only one non-fatal, but severe casualty to Richard's squad. The aforementioned soldier was being carried away in a medieval stretcher with two squires holding it, with bloody gashes everywhere. Richard approached the injured man, and put his hand on the soldier's shoulder.

"You've done well. It's a feat to stand against a legion of monsters with only a handful of soldiers." Richard assured with a tone of pride.

"Ungh..." The soldier moaned, while trying to smile, only to faint halfway.

"Move him out."

The squires nodded, and moved the soldier back to a guarded stronghold to recuperate.

Meanwhile, Richard heard, thanks to a messenger, that Sheik and Lana also had their troubles, and dealt with the Gibdos that advanced on the Great Deku Tree, repelling most of the enemies inside and approaching the area, due to a plea from a captain that the Deku Tree is their main stronghold, and it must not fall. Lana agreed to stay behind and keep the base at optimal condition, while Link and Sheik moved to rid the northern forces.

Just then, a whoosh of air was heard, and Richard then turned around, only to see to his horror, that the Great Deku Tree was burning, with flames covering almost all of the tree. Richard then widened his eyes in fear when he heard the last sentence of the message, that Lana was in the Great Deku Tree.

 _Current music: Emergency (Trauma Center New Blood)_

"LANA!" Richard yelled in his loudest voice, which caused him to cough for a while. He then rushed to the Deku Tree, seeing the area burning brightly, with panicked soldiers everywhere. Richard frantically looked for Lana, and found her stuck under a burnt piece of wood that is as large as a piano. Lana tried to push with all her might the wood that was pinning her down, but she couldn't do it.

"Is this...the end?" Lana sobbed with streams of tears leaking from her eyes.

"Wait!" Richard bellowed, while rushing over, and with adrenaline in his heart due to the fear of losing her, did a very hard kick that sent the piece of wood flying off her. He then helped her up, only to see that her legs have been burnt badly, with second degree burns everywhere on the skin.

"Can you walk?" Richard asked.

Lana responded by trying to walk, only to shriek in pain from the burns and fall.

"No..." She moaned, with a face twisted in pain.

"I see... Then maybe I can carry you." Richard suggested.

"What? But are you strong enough to do that?" Lana questioned, surprised at the statement.

"Being given some power by a universal god makes very little impossible. I can carry you by helping you to hold onto my neck and lie on the back." Richard responded with a smirk on his face.

"But if you carry me like that, won't you be unable to fight?" Lana commented, while turning away with some resentment for herself on her facial expression.

"Are you worried about me?" Richard answered, while looking serious.

"No!" Lana blurted, embarrassed, while shaking her hands in front of her in a "no thanks" way. "It's just...I don;t want to a burden to yo-"

 _Current Music: The Blue Danube (Orchestra Ver.)_

Richard then suddenly put his right index finger on her lips, in a shush manner.

"It's fine. I'll make it. Besides, what hero cannot be strong enough to carry a girl like you?"

Lana just blushed, brighter than the burning background, and put her hands on her mouth, as if to wipe her lips with her hands.

"C'mon." Richard insisted, putting his hands out. "Get on my back, and I'll get someone to fix your legs."

Lana just simply grabbed Richard's hand, and Richard just heaved Lana over him, putting her in a piggy-back condition. Richard then moved out of the tree, making sure to avoid the falling debris.

 _Current Music: Faron Woods (Hyrule Warriors)_

When they got out, they were greeted by Link, Sheik and Impa. Impa was frowning slightly, considering the 'boy' risked his life for this woman, as opposed to Link, who was relieved that the woman was safe. Sheik was simply being neutral, with no expression on her face, even covered by the scarf.

"Where were you, Richard?" Link inquired. "We saw the Great Deku Tree burn very strongly. I thought you two weren't going to make it."

Richard just sighed, and turned over, showing the injured Lana, and everyone, including Sheik gasped when they saw the condition Lana was in.

"What!?" Impa roared in fury. "I know monsters are cruel, but this... I will not let them go for this!"

Richard also was slightly angered by the turn of events, and "When I get to Wizzro, I'm going to make sure he suffers for doing this, but right now, we need to save the Deku Tree."

"I agree. The Eastern Checkpoint has opened, so we can go through there to search for means to extinguish the flames." Link agreed.

"Yeah. There's a Fairy Fountain up in the northern area.

The five heroes, with Richard lugging Lana, made it to the gates of the Fairy Fountain.

"We're here!" Richard cried with joy. "Now let's get-"

Suddenly, the gates shut, and a Gibdo jumps down, blocking their way.

"Son of a bitch..." Richard muttered in anger, his smile turning into a loud scowl.

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" Impa yelled with fury, before running up and making a powerful vertical slash, which knocked back the monster, but not finish it.

Richard simply assisted the attack without any comment, and shield bashed the Gibdo very hard on the head, severely stunning it, and did a flurry of wide slashes that also hit other enemies, finishing the Gibdo and the surrounding enemies. The gates open, and a magic circle suddenly appears near the Fairy Fountain.

"We'll get the Fairy to help us! Deal with the forces in front of us." Richard articulated with a bold tone.

"You owe me, Richard." Impa responded, leaving in a rush.

"OK!" Link cheerfully replied, before following Impa.

"I shall hold them off, Richard. Finish the prayers." Sheik stoically responded, leaving last.

When everyone has left, except for himself and Lana, Richard took out a Hyruliean chants book which he got from Link.

 _Flashback: 3 hours before the battle_

 _Richard and his squad was still fighting off a ambush of Dark Army goblins, with some Darkness-engulfed enemies among them, that appeared on their way to Faron Woods, but it wasn't faring well for them. Richard was struck multiple times from the clubs that they wielded, making him flinch in pain when he was knocked back._

 _"Ugh..." Richard moaned. "Those bastards were lucky to be planned to do this..."_

 _Just after, Link came by on Epona, and took down the group with a few swipes of his blade, thanks the the momentum of the blade strengthened by the speed._

 _"Thanks..." Richard warily commented. "I owe you one..."_

 _"No need." Link replied. "I found something that could be useful for you."_

 _Link took out a red book, that surprisingly had English on the cover, saying "Hyruliean Chants for Beginners"_

 _When Richard took the book and opened, he was surprised that there were many magic chants and incantations written in it, all with a English translation beside them._

 _"Wow!" Richard gasped. "This is a very good discovery! Now I know how to get the Great fairies now. Before, I couldn't understand a single word Zelda chanted."_

 _"Don't thank me." Link replied smiling "Thank the gods."_

 _Flashback end_

"Not here..." Richard muttered while flipping the pages. "Not here... Not here... Oh! There it is!"

Richard flipped to a page that had the chants the summon the Great Fairies separately.

"I'll help." Lana said, half-conscious and recovering. "The more people that chant this incantation, the more powerful the spells that the Great Forest Fairy becomes."

Richard just nodded at Lana, and then began to incant words from the book.

"Conjuro te Fairy immensa silva ! Adiuvare nos perducat nos speramus!" Richard chanted in a noble voice. (I summon thee, O great Forest Fairy! Come to our aid and bring us hope!)

"Homines implentur tempora desperet nihil!" Lana chanted in the same tone. (We live in times that are filled with despair and nothingness!)

"Sic nos sperare cras et auferes malum angit nos!" The two chanted together, with the last word echoing.(So bring us hope for tomorrow, and purge the evil that tortures us!)

Soon after the chant is said, a golden light appeared from the centre of the fountain, and the Great Forest Fairy appeared, in the same garb that Richard saw her when he was with Zelda.

"Ohohoho!" The Great Forest Fairy cheerfully chortled, with fairy dust sparkling off her. "If it isn't a beautiful boy before me, with a maiden on his back! I never had your name last time we saw each other!"

"My name is Richard, and I'm a hero." Richard replied. "I ask for one thing only. Please help us rid the flames that burn the Great Deku Tree!"

"Your wish is granted, dear Richard." The Great Forest Fairy chimed with joy. "Fairies, gather the clouds and create rain upon the Great Deku Tree."

Soon, fairies of assorted colours appeared from the fountain, and moved as a swarm. When they got out of the ancient temple and reached the skies, they split in the four directions, and grabbed clouds everywhere to form a massive cloud that soon began to turn grey, and rained upon the battlefield. Richard went outside, and was in awe at the miracle before him, and Lana felt soothed as the rain cooled the burns that injured her legs. The Great Deku Tree's fires began to die, and the cloud disappeared after the tree is extinguished.

Cheers of joy appeared among the allied forces, and their morale were boosted by the rain that saved their base. Richard's squad even began to fight harder with new-found spirit.

"We're saved!" Lana cheered. "Great Forest Fairy, thank you for your help!"

"I agree. I am eternally grateful that a deity like you is on the side of good." Richard commented, while kneeling.

"Ohohohoho! You heroes always flatter me." The Great Forest Fairy managed to say before she was sent back into the fountain.

"Hey Lana. Are you fine?" Richard questioned.

"Why yes!" Lana said jumping with joy, to Richard's surprise. "The rain completely healed my legs! There may be some healing magic in it that may also healed the tree as well!"

"That's a relief." Richard sighed. "It's really sad to see a girl like you in this condition."

Just then, they heard Wizzro's angry shouts.

"WHO LET THE BOY AND GIRL THROUGH TO THE FOUNTAIN!" Wizzro roared. "MY PLAN WAS PERFECT, AND I COULD HAVE SENT THAT LITTLE BRAT TO HER DOOM, IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU WORTHLESS MINIONS!"

When Richard heard all that, he was so angered by the word "brat" placed on Lana and that the plan was to kill Lana, that he was clenching his fist so hard that there was some blood collecting from the penetrations made by the nails, and Richard's hair and face turned utterly red, something that normal people couldn't have, and there were anime tick marks all over his head. Lana was surprised by the sudden change in Richard

"Are you okay Richard?" Lana asked. "You seem... miffed."

"I..'m...fine..." Richard managed to respond through gritted teeth, despite his voice turning gruff due to his attempt to keep calm. "I'll... just...make...sure...that...sack...of...shit...clothes...gets...his...*bleep*...chopped...off...and...i...hope...it...hurts...bad!"

"I'll just keep away." Lana said to Richard, who had steam running through his ears, while she took a step back, knowing what is going to happen.

"I'M COMING FOR YOU WIZZRO, YOU SACK OF SHIT!"

Richard was charging like a mad bull right at the Enemy Base, slashing through multiple outposts in his oblivious rage, and turning any flesh being into a fine paste of meat with his inhuman speed of slashing, due to adrenaline again. When Link, Impa, Sheik were cornered by a huge crowd of goblins, they saw Richard, and jumped up to a nearby branch to avoid the running "train" of slashes by Richard. The crowd, however, did not fare well, and all of their flesh, bone ,organ and muscle were turned into a huge mound of meat paste.

"Oh Nayru..." Link swore. "Richard is now literally some kind of moving transport with a blade swinging at the speed of wind..."

"This child..." Impa stuttered in complete horror, with eyes wide, and finger pointing at the raging Richard. "This cant possibly be the child I started training 2 months ago!"

"I see..." Sheik commented, without emotion. "So this is the power of rage on this Saviour. It seems that this is not the actual person, but instead a possession of another spirit."

By the way Richard reached the Enemy base, he was covered with miscellaneous parts of bodies, and covered fully in a film of blood, with his blood glowing crimson from the blood. The very sight of Richard caused the enemies to flee in fear, with all kinds of screams, high and low, echoing through the woods, and only Richard and Wizzro remained.

"Yikes!" Wizzro hooted. "That is one nasty boy."

"Die..." Richard hissed with true malice.

"But I have no time for small fries." Wizzro cackled. "What if I give you THIS!"

Wizzro made a dark portal from above, and a Gohma, a spider that has a guard over its only large dragon eye with a red iris, dropped down, and it roared so loud that the whole woods shaked.

"Toodeloo!" Wizzro cooed, before disappearing into the same portal.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU ASSHOLIC RO-" Richard roared.

Suddenly, something clicked in Richard's head, and he fell down unconscious, only to get up, once again normal and calm.

"Ungh..." Richard muttered, rubbing his head. "What the hell happened?"

When Richard looked at the blood on him, he swiped it away, with a loud "Ewww!", and his armour was surprisingly clean after he finished wiping the blood and gore away.

He then saw Lana come over to him, and she hugged Richard like she was in love with him.

"Oh, Richard!" Lana said. "I was so worried about you when you snapped. Are you okay?"

Richard just softly grabbed Lana, and slowly pulled her off him.

"I am." Richard replied in awkward manner, with shifting eyes. "But please don't worry about me. I'm not ready to be swooned over yet."

They then saw a giant shadow go over them, and when they looked back, they saw the Gohma jumping out of the base, and towards the Great Deku Tree.

"Great.." Richard groaned, while face-palming. "Just when I finished saving the Tree from fires, it gets attacked by a ugly monster..."

"We have to go, now!" Lana squealed, with her hands on the side of her heads. "There will be bad things if the monster breaks the tree!"

When they got to the Tree, the monster was firing lasers everywhere with its only eye, and there were soldiers panicking everywhere, just like when the tree was on fire. Link, Impa and Sheik attacked it from different directions, but it did no damage. They were then swatted together out of the base by a spider leg.

"Link! Sheik! Impa!" Lana cried, as they landed outside the base with a crunch.

"They're unconscious from the landing." Richard muttered.

The Gohma then turned its attention to the duo, and roared.

"Lana! We have to hit the eye when it finished attacking with it!" Richard shouted to Lana. "It's the only way we can weaken it!"

"Got it!" Lana replied, while drawing out her bow, while Richard draws Artemis.

The two avoided the swipes by the monster, and when it fired a laser right around it, its eye turned blue and screeched in pain.

"NOW!" Richard shouted, while firing arrows into the eye. Lana also assisted by firing few arrows, and the Gohma fell in pain. Richard then rushed up to the monster and then jumped up in the air, and stabbed the sword into the large eye. The Gohma screeched even louder in pain, and Richard jumped off, withdrawing his blade. The monster got up, and continued attacking.

Richard and Lana shot continuously at the eye of the Gohma many times when the monster was recovering from his laser attack, which caused it drop its guard, and they took the moments to attack and dish out serious damage.

After a while, Richard and Lana were exhausted at defeating the Gohma, with Lana having a bit of a frizzled hair from tiredness, and Richard panting like crazy, while his head was lurched down.

"Did we finish it?" Lana asked.

"Maybe." Richard replied in a stoic tone, not showing his fatigue.

The Gohma was then enveloped suddenly by a blanket of darkness, which caused the duo to look in shock at the transformation. The blanket writhed and wobbled, before being absorbed by the Gohma, which stood up, now in a shade of utter black, with only its purple eye that is not black.

"Oh shit..." Richard uttered in despair.

The Dark Gohma roared, this time, the voice was deeper. It began to raise a claw to pierce Lana.

"Get out of the way!" Richard said, pushing Lana out of the way.

Lana was pushed far away, but managed to get up fine. Richard, however was pierced in the centre of his abdomen, and groaned in pain while falling to his knees, as the wound bled through the crack in the armor. Lana rushed over to Richard.

"Richard!" Lana cried with worry, while holding Richard. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Richard groaned, trying to stand up, and clasped the wound with his left hand. "I'll defeat him, even if i lose a limb!"

The Dark Gohma continued its destruction while the duo were conversing. By the time they noticed it, the monster's eye fired a laser, and it turned blue again, signifying its vulnerability. The two fired arrows into the eye, despite Richard being slower due to his wound. The monster fell down again, stunned by the arrows in its eye. But something was happening between the two heroes.

"Lana, do you trust me?" Richard asked with a strong glare, while reaching out his hands

"I...trust you..." Lana stuttered, while gripping Richard's hands with her own. "You saved me twice now...It's only fair to at least trust you."

"Then let us fight with all our might to save the world." Richard replied.

The two let go, and then used their separate Spirit Focus, and then attacked in a synchronized manner, and then both of them jumped into the air, and dived at the monster, with Richard turning into a yellow comet, and Lana a blue comet, which then combined into a cyan comet, which struck the monster with so much might, that a sphere of dust spread outward from the point of impact. When it dissipated, the Dark Gohma was defeated, and back to its original self, with Richard and Lana standing over it.

"It's.. finally... defeated..." Richard panted, before the wound spurt a stream of blood,and falling onto the ground.

"Oh no!" Lana gasped, before Richard's world was turned into darkness.

(3 hours later)

Richard woke up on the same spot he fell unconscious on, only to find that the wound was gone, as well as the crack in the armour. He then got up,walked out of the keep, and saw that Lana, Sheik, Impa, and Link was talking.

"So you and Richard defeated this beast by yourselves?" Impa asked.

"Yes, but Richard was badly hurt by that attack. I healed his wound, but he was unconscious when I checked him." Lana replied.

"Richard...Please wake up..." Link said in a worried manner.

At that moment, Richard came over to the group and said, "I'm fine, Link."

"RICHARD!" Link gasped with joy, before tackling him with a bear hug.

"Stop it... Link..." Richard groaned under the pressure. "You're killing me..."

Link let go, and then asked, "Are you really okay?"

"Yep, unless you can give me the potion i bought a while ago." Richard replied, smirking.

"Here." Impa said, handing the aforementioned object to Richard, who took a big swig, and then wiped his mouth with his arm.

"That helped." Richard commented, relieved.

"It's a shame Zelda was not here. I hope that she is safe wherever she is." Impa bemoaned.

Sheik just glanced at Impa, before turning away and sighing.

"One more thing to tell you, Lana is actually a part of the Sorceress of Time." Richard said.

The group was surprised by the statement, and then looked at Lana with surprise.

"Don't believe me? I'll tell why, if you want." Richard insisted.

"Do tell." Sheik said.

"It's like this." Richard narrated. "From what I read, There was the Sorceress of Time who protects the balance of the Triforce while observing the timeline without interfering, until she caught sight of a unique soul. It was Link, the legendary hero that arrives to purge evil, no matter the era. She was fascinated that the bodies only had the soul of this hero in them, and she was also sad that she would never get her chance to ever meet the hero. While she was preoccupied, a fragment of Ganondorf entered her heart without her knowing, and it purged the light from her, turning her into the woman Cia. Lana is actually the light that was purged, while Cia had the desire to possess the legendary soul. She opened the Gate of Souls, which was a gateway in time, in which monsters of different eras invaded the land, causing this war we are in."

"Is this...all true?" Impa asked, in awe of what was said.

"It is." Richard assured. "I know where she is for now, and the sooner we defeat her, the less time Ganondorf has to fully use the Gate of Soul's potential. She's at the Valley of Seers, a place which you should know, with both Wizzro and Volga."

"Then we advance there." Impa announced. "All units, our destination is Valley of Seers!"

The army moved towards the Valley of the Seers, ready for the battle to end this nightmare.

CHAPTER END.

* * *

A/N: So this it it, one more chapter before Richard recruits Link, Impa and Sheik into the team, and the end of the arc. The reason I selected these three is because Link is the main character (duh!), Sheik can be used in any world, and Impa also applies for the same case, and Lana has to fuse with Cia in the end. By the way, I did my best to try and make the situation interesting, so please criticise if there are problems. By the way, Sheik just revealed a clue about another special ability that Richard has, but unaware about...yet.

Preview of Next Chapter: _The Final Battle! The First Multiversal Union!_

 _Hi everyone! I'm feeling that I'm close to getting some allies for my team, thanks to the interactions I had with Link, Impa and Zelda, i mean Sheik. We are at the Valley of the Seers. This is the part where the game version becomes long, but I know a trick that can end this war early. Want to know what it is? Find out next chapter, where this world is about to be cleared._

 **The party of five made it to the altar, where the Gate of Souls lies.**

 **"Don't let your guard down!" Richard warned. "Cia could be anywhere here!"**

 **Right on cue of those words, Cia appeared in a purple plume of smoke, wearing clothes that are opposite to those Lana wears.**

 **"Now which of you shall I play with, and then kill?" Cia cooed, while putting her index finger on her lips.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Final Battle

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 4: The Final Battle! The First Multiversal Union!

Replies to reviews:

amol: I see that problem. Sorry if I forgot that the Prologue does no count as a chapter in stories

Guest: I understand. I will add cartoons, anime, books into the mix, but I feel comfortable doing a game arc first. As for adding Geoffrey Leonard? I ain't adding that pedo in. It's too stupid and he's too weak and goofy to be a original villain, but I can tell all who read this, there will be original villains, and you are free to suggest villains to add to the story.

SegaDreamCaster: That's a definite yes, my dear reader. But that's not all I might add...Prepare for surprises of who will be added into the team from the Sonic universe.

techdog246: I liked that comment... up to the part where you suggested sex. Sorry if I never said this, but this story will be sex-free until I reach the ripe age of 18, where i can mention sex as much as I want. If you are REALLY that perverted... I might add a extra story when i'm old enough, where the missing parts with sex will be shown.

Animemaster369: Keep reading, and that wish will be fulfilled. ;)

In the Previous Chapter:

 **"Are you the one that is leading the forces here?"**

 **"That's a Deku Baba! Unless you can shoot it at a long range with a sharp object, it will kill you by poisoning!"**

 **"What...what is this?**

 **"Orders are, to keep those vile creatures off the lady Lana!"**

 **"I'M COMING FOR YOU WIZZRO, YOU SACK OF SHIT!"**

 **"So this is the power of rage on this Saviour. It seems that this is not the actual person, but instead a possession of another spirit."**

 **"You saved me twice now...It's only fair to at least trust you."**

 **"All units, our destination is Valley of Seers!"**

* * *

 _Current Music: Valley of Seers (Hyrule Warriors)_

The five, Richard, Link, Sheik, Lana and Impa move onto the Valley of the Seers with the Hyruliean army, to stop the evil double of Lana, Cia, from opening the Gate of Souls fully. Cia plans to use the portal to gain the three pieces of the Triforce and fulfill her desire to revive Ganondorf.

The army marched from Faron Woods, the previous battlefield, and were ambushed by many small groups of monsters of the Dark Army. Link and Impa were emotionally sore as they were missing Zelda, with Link being her hero, and Impa her bodyguard, both depressed that they let Zelda be captured. Richard, however, was dwelling on something different.

 _If I remember this battle well,_ Richard thought, _The battle ended with a failure to stop Cia. Perhaps if I can create a hypothetical situation by stopping Cia before she completes the ritual, then I can end this conflict earlier than I need to. Besides, I have limited stamina and vitality, unlike the other four heroes._

"Hey, Richard?" Link asked, worried. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh!" Richard gasped, surprised that Link was talking to him. "It's nothing."

"We're here." Sheik stoically said, pointing to the Gate of Souls that is glowing far in front of them.

Just then, the voice of Cia boomed across the entire battlefield.

"Ooh. Has the Hero finally come to see me?" Cia cooed. "Well then, Link, don't keep me waiting~"

"Cia's at the top of the ruins." Lana stated "We must take her out before she summons more monsters."

"If we can capture the ruin keeps in front of us," Sheik stated. "We can gain a foothold against the Enemy Base, where Cia is. We'll split into two groups to quicken progress. Impa and I will take the east keep, and the rest will take the west keep-"

"Excuse me, Sheik." Richard interjected, with a tone of annoyance. "But I'm going with you. You can't force me not, and it'll benefit you greatly."

"Hmph." Impa growled. "Do what you wish, boy."

Richard heard Impa, and gave her a beaming glare, before the three head off to take the eastern keep, while Link and Lana moved to the west keep.

 _I still feel uneasy putting trust on Sheik..._ Impa thought _Perhaps I should take another route._

Impa then turned away from the group, before saying, "Thank you, Sheik, but I have my own attack plans.", taking another route.

Richard just sighed at this, knowing that this would happen, and then moved on with Sheik.

While going on her route, Impa encountered Volga, who was annihilating the Hyruliean troops in front of him.

"Worthless..." Volga roared, while knocking a Hyruliean Captain down. "You vermin are not qualified to be my exercise."

Volga then grabbed another Hyruliean Captain with his hand, and threw the soldier down onto the ground.

"IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN PROVIDE ME WITH A CHALLENGE!?" Volga yelled with utter annoyance.

Impa then took the moment to strike Volga, who was surprised by the assault, and knocked back a few metres by the blow.

"So you're the captain that saved those two boys at Hyrule Castle." Volga grumbled, while breathing fire out. "I'll enjoy tearing you limb to limb..."

"Just try me, dragon hybrid." Impa retorted, dashing towards Volga.

Impa swung her gigantic blade down at Volga, but Volga blocked it with his spear, and parried the blow back to Impa with a hard thrust, knocking her back a few metres. He then jumped and raised his spear above his head to impale Impa with it, but Impa simply rolled out of the way, and Volga landed with a slight shockwave. He turned to and growled, trying to lift the spear, only to look back and see that the spear was stuck in the earth. While he was trying to pull it out, Impa used the opportunity to assault Volga with a combo of slashes, knocking the hybrid away from his spear.

"You..." Volga growled. "You think you can win that easily?"

Volga then turned his arm into a dragon claw and rushed at Impa.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" He roared.

He then slashed down on Impa, and Impa tried to block the claw with her sword, but the sword was knocked away in the process, and she was defenseless to a series of strikes from Volga, which drew blood and left many bloody claw marks on her body while knocking her back.

Impa then staggered slightly, before rushing to her sword.

"What's the matter, woman?" Volga smirked. "Losing your courage?"

"I've got more strength to fight you." Impa stoically said while drawing her sword from the ground.

 _Meanwhile..._

Sheik and Impa made it to the West Keep, only to realize that a new thing was in it. It was a Beamo that is attached to the wall. Sheik noticed this, but Richard did not, as he rushed into the keep.

"Time to slaughter this keep!" Richard smirked.

"Richard, don-'" Sheik tried to say, before the Beamo then locked its only eye on the boy, and fired a laser that ignited the ground, before the lighted ground exploded in a eruption of light.

"Ulp!" Richard uttered while jumping back from the eruption, before staggering.

Sheik just looked at the boy, while shaking her head in annoyance, before heading in.

"Now do you know what impatience nets you?"

"Yeah...I forgot that traps like Beamos aren't shown on the HUD." Richard groaned. "But I won't get cocky this time."

They took down the East Keep, just in time for a message to appear on Richard's HUD

 **Impa is losing the fight against Volga.**

"I knew it." Richard said, while rushing off to where Impa is. "She had to have trouble with him at some time."

"Where are you going?" Sheik said, noticing Richard.

"I have to save her!" Richard said. "Find Lana and Link, and ask if they took care of the East Keep."

"Got it." Sheik said, while running in another direction.

 _Meanwhile at Impa..._

"He's really hitting us with everything he's got." Impa huffed, being tired from the prolonged battle with Volga. "We have to bring him down!"

"Pathetic pathetic PATHETIC!" Volga yelled with fury. "You are no fun to battle. If you are the best you got here, then this battlefield will become my slaughterhouse."

"Damn..." Impa hissed.

"Now..." Volga growled, while pointing his spear at Impa and her squad. "It's time to wipe the cockroaches off."

"Not a chance!"

Volga then saw Richard come to Impa's side.

"Impa." Richard calmly said. "Go get the other keep. I'll deal with Volga."

"What!?" Impa complained. "Are you insane!? Volga defeated me with slight ease!"

"But he hasn't fought me yet." Richard replied. "Besides, I got a score to settle with him. GO!"

"Richard..." Impa mouthed, while moving ahead of Richard and Volga. "Thank you..."

Richard waited for Impa and her units to leave his sight, before moving into a battle stance.

"Now we can fight without distractions." Richard said coolly.

"You!?" Volga smirked. "Don't make me laugh. You defeated me because of a cowardly surprise attack. Do you really think that you can defeat me when I defeated your mentor?"

"Then it's a fight to the death then." Richard retorted. "And, I found out something about myself."

"What is it, boy?" Volga grunted in a irritated tone.

"This!" Richard said, raising his right hand in the air, before the golden chain mark shined on his raised hand, and he was suddenly surrounded by a pillar of fire.

When the pillar subsided, Richard was now in the same form that he was when he was at Faron Woods. His hair is now red, his eye colour was a bright red-orange colour, and one could see that his aura exerts a crimson lining.

"Surprised?" The now-transformed Richard bragged with arrogance, in a louder voice than Richard normally says. "This is the very person that will whoop your ass over and over!"

"How annoying." Volga intoned. "You only seem to have changed colour, like a pathetic chameleon."

"Chameleon?" Richard smirked.

Richard then put his right hand on his forehead and let out a burst of 'Ahahahaha', while pointing his head up.

"What's so funny, boy?" Volga growled with anger.

"You stupid fucking lizard..." Richard chuckled. "Do you really think that I'm that boy now? Last time we met, he couldn't control me. But this time, he given me the reins of his body, which means... I GET TO JAM MY SWORD UP YOUR PUNY ASS!"

"You dare insult me!?" Volga roared.

"I dare." The possessed Richard retorted.

The two then rush towards each other with their weapons, with both roaring with determination.

 _Flashback, 2 hours before the battle._

 _Current Music:_ _Laughter and Merriment (Kingdom Hearts II)_

 _The Hyruliean Forces are camping near the entrance of Faron Woods. Link was practising his swordsmanship on a wooden dummy, Impa is meditating in a lotus position, Sheik leaning on a tree while playing the harp, and Richard resting on the opposite side of the tree. The rest of the forces were going through drills and combat practices._

 _Current Music: Dearly Beloved Remix (Kingdom Hearts Chi)_

 _Unknown to everyone, Richard drifted to a dream, where he was on a platform that had the same format as the Dive to the Heart platforms in Kingdom Hearts, except the outer tier pattern being gray, and the rim being black, the surrounding circles of the middle tier having a shining gold Chi letter, and the inner tier having a background of the Core, and Richard being in the centre, facing towards the outside, arms spread out in a T formation, with his face being in blissful slumber, and the circle of the inner tier bearing the Creator in the center, Link in the upper-right circle, Impa in the upper-left circle, Sheik in the top circle, Zelda in the bottom circle, Lana in the bottom left circle, and Cia in the bottom right circle._

 _"This is... my heart?" Richard quietly blurted with surprise._

 _"Indeed." Said a voice that was Richard's, except it was more bold and strong in tone._

 _Richard then turned to the source of the voice, only to find that he was looking at himself, except the other one had red hair, orange-red eyes, wears a arrogant smirk on his face, and is clad in crimson steel armor, wielding dual longswords that are a longer version of Krato's Artemis Blades, each being at the length of a katana, and the hilt being the head of a red dragon moulded from steel, with the eye sockets bearing rubies._

 _"This is your Heart." The red-clad Richard intoned with pride._

 _"Then who are you?" The normal Richard replied. "You seem... familliar."_

 _"That because I am." The red-clad Richard said. "I can be you, but i'm not truly you."_

 _"I don't get what you mean." The normal Richard told the other Richard, with confusion in his voice, and scratching his head for added effect._

 _"Ay..." The red Richard moaned with disappointment. "And here I thought I was the dumber one of the two here. Heard of Ares?"_

 _"Ares..." The normal Richard muttered, until the truth clicked in his mind. "You don't mean...!"_

 _"That's right, my little cutie!" The red Richard laughed with joy. "I'm the one and only Ares of the multiverse!"_

 _"But I don't get how you became a part of me?" Richard questioned with worry. "I'm not connected to you at all."_

 _"Well, I'm actually a part of you. I represent recklessness, pride, anger, adrenaline and strength in a single entity." Ares replied as calm as he could, which is at most still slightly excited._

 _"You said you are the Ares of the multiverse." The normal Richard asked. "What do you mean?"_

 _"Well, considering that in other universes or dimensions, there are other Ares, each claiming to be true gods." The red Richard intoned with the same voice as before. "There's the one from the Percy Jackson universe, a total bald-head and too arrogant compared to his own strength, so lots more bark than bite, and there's the one from the God of War universe, my personal favourite, considering that he is at least competent, but he's dead by Kratos, so whoop-de-doo, I have no other self around the whole multiverse that at least interests me. So I'm the real Ares that is a god of the multiverse, which is basically a upgrade from being god of one universe."_

 _"Wow!" Richard cheerfully yelled. "This is so awesome to be given such personas from the Creator."_

 _"Yeah yeah.." Ares droned, uninterested."She created me from you, so she's technically my mother, and I hate to parented being the god of destruction and war. But I find you, kid, to be very interesting. You have the guts and courage to defend the multiverse, so i'll stick with you."_

 _'So that's what Sheik meant when she said I turned red in Faron Woods.' Richard thought._

 _"Anyway, there's a way to change into me." Ares said. "All you have to do is raise your right hand, and then call me in your mind, and then, voila! I'll be there to kill some shit and whoop some ass! You'll still be conscious, so you'll be able to switch me with any other personas if you want something else. Just make sure that I get my share of enemies to kill, or i'll be disappointed that I am summoned to kill a few people that are even weak enough to be defeated wielding a regular sword."_

 _"I promise you, my Master." Richard solemnly stated._

 _"Master?" Ares smirked, surprised yet also flattered by the comment. "Nah, I'm the same position as you. If there's one name I like to be called, it's Friend."_

 _"Thank you.." Richard sniffed, moved by the fact that Ares is quite friendly, even if he was a god of destruction._

 _"Now now..." Ares said comfortingly, although in a loud voice. "There's no need to be all snotty because of me. A pal like you is more worth than any blockhead."_

 _"So it's time to wake up?" Richard asked, while wiping the tears away._

 _"Yep. Just remember, I'm here to beat up some assholes with ya, and be your guardian." Ares insisted._

 _Current music: Laughter and Merriment (Kingdom Hearts II)_

 _Richard then woke up right where he was, and then thought about Ares, as he was surprised to have a great persona as his friend._

 _'Ares...' Richard thought with interest. 'He seems great...'_

 _Back to present time._

 _Current music: *insert any boss theme here* (My preference: Nuclear Fusion (Artist: Xi-on))_

Richard does the first blow, slashing boldly upwards at Volga, stopping Volga's attempt in attacking him, and kncoking the hybrid a few metres back back.

Volga then recovers from the knock-back and growls intensely at Richard.

"I'm not satisfied of you yet, boy!" Volga roared.

"Yadda yadda." Ares goaded in a mocking tone. "Will you ever fucking shut up and focus on the fight!? For your information, asshole, i scored a hit that whitted away a decent amount of our stamina, and you haven't even scratch my guard."

"You are making death wishes." Volga hissed with fury.

"'You're making death wishes'." Ares imitated in a slurred tone. "You talk too much for a warrior. No wonder Richard had the mind to nickname you "Thou most Chattiest Dragon Lord'."

"SILENCE, WEAKLING!" Volga yelled with pure anger. "YOU WANT TO DIE SO MUCH, I'LL OBLIGE YOU!"

"Good." Ares smirked. "You'll be my first general that I will mutilate in this body."

The two warriors engage, parrying each other for a few times, before both of them begin to attack at a inhuman speed, and one cannot see the weapons, but can see a flurry of slashes appearing in between them. The flurry of slashes wavers towards either of them, but finally lands on Volga, hitting him multiple times, but he withstood the blows and remained unmoved.

"Now we're talking!" Ares laughed with joy. "This is the Volga that I wish to fight!"

Ares then rammed into Volga head-first on the chest, and Volga was winded by the impact and was pushed into a stone wall by Ares, who then raised his head and did multiple strikes, which got both faster and stronger with each hit due to Ares's determination to defeat the enemy.

However, Volga managed to break free of the continuous assault, and then knocked Ares back with a flame-engulfed fist on his head, stunning before using his spear to pierce through the left side of Are's chest in a spray of blood. Ares then gasped sharply in pain, before the spear withdrew from his body and he fell down on the ground, the blade tip dripping with crimson blood. Volga was slightly injured from the fight, as his once pristine dragon armour was filled with marks of cuts and stabs, and he also got some gashes on his face.

"That boy..." Volga huffed with fatigue. "He's strong and worthy. It's finally worthy to come to that hag's orders to here, as he managed to be the only to moderately wound me. But in all fights, the more old and experienced warriors wins the battle."

Volga then turned away from the body of Ares, and walked only a few steps, before he felt something penetrate his armour and had unbearable pain on the center of his chest, and when he looked down, he saw the golden sword that Ares used with Richard's body stick out the very area the pain is coming from. He then looked behind him, and saw that Ares was clutching the blade with both his hands, the golden shield lying on the ground.

"H-how?" Volga asked, still normally speaking even near death.

"Never turn your back on me..." Ares smirked, with some fresh blood leaking from his mouth. "Your mistake was not penetrating my heart. If you did... I've would have truly died..."

"I-impressive, b-boy..." Volga whispered, before Richard pulled the sword, and on it was the heart of Volga, which is a larger version of a normal human's, and ending the suffering of Volga.

 **Volga has been slain by Richard.**

Ares then began to transform again, with the iris and the hair fading back to his original hair and eye colour, changing back to Richard.

"Uugh..." Richard moaned with pain. "Ares, how the hell did you even got me fatally wounded?"

' _That asshole managed to knock me down enough to spike me one on the chest!'_ Ares mentally explained. _'I'm sorry for the wound, but I can keep you up for a while.'_

 _Current Music: Warning (Trauma Center New Blood)_

 **Richard is fatally wounded by Volga's attacks.**

"Gah..." Richard blurted, feeling the pain that came after he read the announcement, and then spitting out some blood that stained his teeth. "I need to find help."

 **Mission: Reach Allied Main Base before time runs out.**

 **2:00**

"So that's where I can seek help?" Richard coughed. "And that time limit must be the limit of Ares's ability to keeping me alive."

' _No shit, Sherlock!'_ Ares yelled so loud mentally, that Richard winced in pain from it. ' _Just please don't die on purpose!'_

"Let's hope that the others know..." Richard muttered under his breath, before making a straight course for the Allied Main Base.

 **The wound on Richard has reduced his health by a slight amount, and has reduced attack power significantly.**

"Agh!" Richard hissed with pain, as the wound became more painful, and he had to clutch it with his left hand to keep

' _Keep going!'_ Ares commented mentally. ' _You'll die if you stop moving!'_

 **1:21**

Richard then ran faster, making it halfway on the route, before he was ambushed by a squad of Moblins accompanied by a Lizalfos.

"FUCK!" Richard roared with frustration. "Not now! I can't fight like this."

The squad ignored Richard's comments and moved forward.

"Goddamnit..." Richard moaned. "I have to fight then..."

Richard then tried to attack the squad with the sword in his right hand, but it only defeated the moblins with great ease, leaving the Lizalfos The Lizalfos saw Richard doing a double take, and rushed to finish off the vulnerable Richard. Richard saw the lizard anthro raising the sword it wields, but lost all strength to draw his sword.

' _Is this it...'_ Richard thought in despair. ' _This is how I die the first time, under the blade of a minion?'_

Just before the Lizalfos can even be within reach of Richard, it was suddenly cut by a vertical flash of steel, which slowly began to split the lizard in two parts, with the blue blood leaking out of them.

"Are you alright?" A familiar voice asked

Richard then turned to the source and saw Impa, with her giant blade stained with the Lizalfo's blood.

"What does it look like, teacher?" Richard groaned.

"I.. never thought that you can even stay awake from that wound... You fainted soon after that Gohma stabbed you with its leg, as Lana said." Impa stuttered in fear of what she saw, which was Richard's armour mostly covered in his own blood from the wound.

"Just... help..." Richard replied.

The two of them continued to head to the specified area, as Impa helped kill any enemies in the way with no time wasted.

 **0:10**

They reached the base, and Richard was very pale from the blood loss.

A medic came to the place, with some squires to help him.

"My Naryu!" The medic swore in fear. "What happened to you?"

"Just... Help..." Richard managed to moan before he spat out a spray of blood, and fell to the ground unconscious.

 **MISSION COMPLETE**

"Hurry up and get him up! We cannot let one of our best generals die here!" Impa ordered quickly.

"YESSIR!" was the response of the medical group, while 4 of them carried Richard by grabbing each of his limbs to lift him up, heading for the tent.

Current music: Valley of Seers (Hyrule Warriors)

Impa hurried back to the field to finish off the battle. By then, the plan has succeeded, as the two keeps were captured. Impa met the other heroes, except Lana, at the entrance of the Temple of Seers

"Richard is under medical care, but he will make it." Impa explained. "He might be able to return to battle if we are lucky."

"He was brave to slay Volga." Sheik stoically responded. "I get that he finally used his first persona mode, but what surprised me that Volga fatally wounded him, yet he makes it to the main base still beating."

"Richard..." Link muttered with worry. "I hope you'll live through this..."

"Everyone!" Lana called out while running to the group. "The front is blocked with dark vines!"

"Then we're stuck..." Link groaned with disappointment.

"Come now!" Cia boomed across the entire battlefield. "I don't like people dawdling at my doorstep! You want a welcoming party? Fine!"

After Cia finished talking, more monsters of the Dark Army moved onwards to attack them, with some of them being enemies strengthened by the Darkness.

"The front's blocked. We need to find another way..." Lana said. "Perhaps we can lower the bridge in the east!"

"It seems possible." Sheik replied.

Suddenly, a Hyruliean messenger ran towards the group.

"Report!" The messenger shouted. "Engineers are deploying from the Main Camp!"

"That's perfect!" Link cheered. "We can have them lower the bridges!"

"What of the condition of Richard?" Impa asked the messenger.

"He's still living, but barely." The messenger responded.

"I shouldn't have let him fight Volga alone..." Impa muttered with self-disappointment.

 _Meanwhile, at the Medical Tent_

"He's not responding, sir!" A medic cried.

The scene was in a medical tent, where Richard was laid sprawling on a stone table, eyes glazed over in coma, and a few medics surrounding him, using many methods, including rubbing healing herbs on the wound, to heal him, but to no avail.

"We can't lose him to the Reaper!" The chief medic exclaimed. "Use the Harmlir Elixir!"

One of the medics went out, and came back with a potion that was in a honey-like colour, and almost transparent. The chief medic then took the potion with haste and poured it on the wound, but the wound still as large as it was.

"Damnit..." The chief medic sighed in defeat. "There has to be something that can help him..."

Just then, a soldier from Richard's squad burst into the tent, with the Fairy Potion Richard bought from a Goron Bazaar.

"Use this!" The soldier pleaded loudly. "This potion has helped him when he was injured many times, including when he got pierced by that Gohma. Please use it to heal him!"

The chief medic then took the potion, and then poured it on the wound, worried that it wouldn't work. But what came soon after surprised him.

The moment all the contents of the potion were poured on the wound, it shot a ray of divine light onto the area, and the wound was fizzling away like it was being digitally deleted, until the wound was not present at all.

"By Din..." The chief medic stuttered in surprise. "The fairies saved this child..."

Richard then begin to move, first his hands twitched, and then his face changed to a grimace, and he sat up, with his right hand on his head.

"Oh..." Richard groaned. "What the hell happened?"

He then got off the table, and then noticed the medics.

"Right..." Richard grumbled with frustration "You guys saved me?"

"We did, young master." The chief medic eagerly responded.

"I never expected that I would need help myself..." Richard said. "Then again, I would have to deal with death time and time again. Here's your pay."

Richard handed out a equivalent of 1000 rupees to each of the medics, which surprised them.

"It's all I can do to thank you guys." Richard explained.

The medic still remained there, stunned by the generosity of Richard.

"Anyway..." Richard smirked. "Duty calls!"

Richard then grabbed his weapon, including the shield he dropped, from another table, and rushed out of the tent to continue the fight.

 _Back with the heroes..._

Lana, Sheik, Link and Impa taken all outside keeps and have escorted the engineers to the east side of the temple, where they constructed a drawbridge that helped them cross into the Temple of Seers, and they just made it into the temple, and have already identified that there are more dark vines blocking the way to Cia.

"If I heard correctly, there's some sort of item in the ruins that could help." Lana stated. "We have to find it!"

Just when the group was about to leave, however, Richard can rushing in behind them, dicing and slicing all enemies in his way with momentum-filled swings.

"Don't forget me!" Richard exclaimed, when he reached the group.

"Richard!" Link cried with joy, and bear-hugged Richard...again.

"L-link..." Richard tried to say, but ended up wheezing the words out due to the pressure. "You're going to hurt me bad..."

Link then snapped out of his joyous expression, and then contorted in fear when he was squeezing the life out of Richard again. He then went into a anime emo with anime depression lines on his face.

"What I was about to say was that I know where the item is." Richard said, while sprinting off."Follow me!"

The heroes followed Richard, even Link, as he snapped out of his depression.

After a while, taking down about 15 squads of Dark Army Forces, they reached the West Room, which was infested with enemies.

"Come on!" Richard exclaimed, doing the "come here" sign with his right arm. "We'll find the treasure here after we kill the enemy!"

The five heroes just agreed mentally, and then took down the enemies without ease, even taking down the Darknut defending it, where Richard sneaked towards it while Impa attacked it in the front,and Richard simply just stabbed the blade into the back of the anthro's neck and then swiped it up, resulting in a split head which gushed red blood, before the body fell, and faded away. Just after the Darknut was killed, a treasure chest appeared.

Richard took the honour of opening the chest, and then lifted the chest's lid with ease. He then saw that inside the chest was normal boomerangs, and no relic, each bearing a ruby diamond on the centre, and having circles of green runes etched on it's edges. Richard just simply shrugged with both hands, and then collected them before handing them out to the other heroes.

 **New Item: Hyruliean Boomerang (Epic)**

 **A weapon that is made out of a special wood in Hyrule, making it strong enough to cut anything less than metal. It returns to its owner, and possesses penetrative abilities, making it a crowd-control item.**

"Well, that's strange." Impa mused. "A boomerang can help us."

"O, ye of no faith." Richard chuckled. "Just watch what it can do."

The group of heroes made it back to where the vines blocked the route to the summit, and then Richard pulled out the newly-acquired boomerang, and threw it with a vigorous flick, which caused it to fly at fast speeds, where it hit the vines, and cut through it to everyone's surprise, excluding Richard.

"Sometimes, even water can penetrate a rock boulder if given time." Richard recited, comparing the situation to a teaching he heard. "But first..."

Richard then rushed back to the temple's entrance, and cut the vines again with another throw of the boomerang, which caused the allied troops camped there to cheer with joy.

"Now... Shall we end this?" Richard insisted. "We got plenty of time thanks to the allied reinforcements into the temple, and that we cleared the field faster than i remember you did."

"I have to stop Cia..." Lana commented with worry.

"You seem to help us well, Richard." Sheik intoned. "I thank you for your help."

"Yep!" Link agreed.

After the conversation, the party of five made it to the altar, where the Gate of Souls lies.

"Don't let your guard down!" Richard warned. "Cia could be anywhere here!"

Right on cue of those words, Cia appeared in a purple plume of smoke, wearing clothes that are opposite colors to those Lana wears.

"Now which of you shall I play with, and then kill?" Cia cooed, while putting her index finger on her lips.

"Neither." Richard retorted. "I'll stop you before you even do that."

"Oh?" Cia drawled. "And what can a boy like you do against the Darkness?"

"The Darkness!?" Richard stuttered. "What are you blabbering about!?"

"Oh, I know about it." Cia grinned. "BECAUSE I EMBRACED IT!"

Just after she finished saying those words, she suddenly exerted a dark aura, and her mask fell off, showing that Cia has the same face as Lana, her right eye flashing a deep crimson before it faded back to normal, and then she cackled as she charged at the group with dark fire in both her hands.

"GET READY!" Richard roared to the other heroes, as they prepared to fight.

Richard was about to slice down onto the charging Cia, but then she disappeared in a flash, and then she reappeared at the back of the room, now split into 5 copies.

"Ahahahahhah!" The Cias laughed simultaneously, as if speaking as one. "You think that being a hero is good. Well try to find me~"

"Take each of them in a single duel!" Impa ordered. "That way, it can be easier to defeat them."

The others followed the orders, and then rammed their opponent away from each other. The Gate of Souls still blazed, but without Cia on it, it began to diminish.

"You won't stop me!" The Cias cackled. "I'll slaughter you all!"

"Not if I still breathe, witch." Impa retorted, slicing the Cia copy away from her.

The others were engaged well into battle, with Richard trying to duck under Cia's whip attacks, Link trying to attack her, but is blocked and then countered back, Lana throwing spell after spell while Cia did the same, causing a ball of pure magic to be pushed between them, Sheik taking her Cia out slowly, by exploiting her weak points, and Impa simply cutting through her Cia's guard with slight ease.

"Give up?" The Cias purred. "You should be!"

"ENOUGH!" Richard roared, suddenly speeding up his attacks, which slowly overwhelmed his Cia, and then dispelled her with a blade through her chest.

Lana's Cia then saw the Cia against Richard fall, and Lana then fired stronger spells, which caused the orb of magic to push towards her Cia, which noticed the change too late, and was utterly obliterated by the ball of magic, howling in pain.

With their Cias down, Richard and Lana each took down the Cias against Sheik and Link, with Richard smashing the sword down onto the Cia against Link, and Lana using her first Musou onto the unsuspecting Cia against Sheik. Both Cias faded away as the blows connected, which left the real Cia against Impa, which Impa knocked Cia back with a swipe of her blade, and the other heroes came to Impa's side. By then, Cia was literally livid, her eyes twitching in anger and frustration, with her cool demeanour gone only to be replaced by one filled with hatred, and her robe being torn and shredded everywhere, and her body was bent forward, looking at the group.

"Why..." Cia hissed. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE, YOU BRATS!?"

Richard just simply stepped forward, and then raised his blade's tip towards Cia.

"Because..." Richard responded, pulling the sword back. "I can't afford to lose here. Not while lives are at stake!"

He then suddenly glowed a faint golden aura.

"ZANTETSUKEN!" Richard yelled the famous art.

 **NEW SKILL: ZANTETSUKEN**

 **Zantetsuken (斬鉄剣, Zantetsuken?, lit. Iron-Cutting Sword), also known as Steel-Bladed Sword and Atom Edge, or by a shortened name Zantetsu or Z-Sword, is Odin's signature attack in the Final Fantasy series, and shares its name with his sword. Zantetsuken typically causes instant death to all targets, or does very high damage to them.**

Richard then rushed forward in a flash, through Cia, and one could see the kanji for "slash" being imprinted on the body of Cia, and then the symbol is split diagonally, with the pieces falling off, and a flash of light as Cia falls forward, and laid sprawling on the ground.

"What... is that?" Link asked.

Richard then doubled over in exhaustion, and the aura around him slowly faded.

"I... I don't know..." Richard responded, with slight worry in his voice. "It was like as if... I know the move and had the power to execute it..."

 _Current Music: Sincerely Abbey_

Lana rushed over to Cia, with a face of fear and worry, and then held her.

"Cia!" Lana cried.

Cia simply tilted her head, now calm.

"Lana... We've seen how this ends... And we both know that he didn't choose you..." Cia whispered, having little energy to even speak. "But how... how do you do it, knowing you'll get left behind?"

Lana just simply looked back at the group of heroes behind her, with Richard doing a thumbs-up with his right hand.

"Tell her the answer." Richard insisted. "It's better to let her pass on without doubt."

Lana just nodded, and then looked back at Cia, who was waiting for her response.

"Because you don't always get the person you think you deserve..." Lana replied with clarity. "And I can live with that..."

Cia just simply did a small smile.

"You always were... my better half..." Cia mouthed silently, before her eyes closed and her head fell back, and she faded into a shower of light particles, leaving behind the Triforce of Power.

Lana tried to grasp the fading Cia, but she just grabbed onto air, and she began to cry. The rest of the heroes looked at her apathetically, including Richard, who had his head down slightly, as if he was depressed.

"Cia eventually would have been slain..." Richard solemnly stated. "Not matter if the Gate of Souls was open or not. We just stopped many of lives from being wasted by a pointless war, but at what cost? Lana is the only Sorcerer of Time."

Lana saw the piece of the Triforce, and then slowly combined it with her body, by surrounding the piece with a magical sphere, and the sphere shrunk into her right hand's palm.

She then turned to the group, with a sad smile on her face.

"It's finally over. We won." Lana said.

"But what now?" Impa questioned. "We cannot close the Gate of Souls without the full Triforce, and Zelda is nowhere to be seen."

"No..." Sheik replied. "She's here."

Sheik then suddenly disappeared a globe of light, which dispersed to show Princess Zelda.

"Because I was her." She said.

"Princess!" Impa exclaimed with joy. "I thought that those horrid monsters had captured you!"

"I knew it all along, Impa." Richard stated. "It's just that I decided to let things go that i never said this. I'm sorry if I caused worry for you."

"I see." Impa sighed. "So that's why I felt the Princess in Sheik."

"Now, let us restore Hyrule." Lana said.

Link and Zelda nodded and walked over to Lana, bofore putting out their right hand, as did Lana, and the pieces of the Triforce appeared, and slowly fused into the full Triforce, which shot a beam of light into the giant Gate of Souls, which then exploded in a flash of light, and the sky turned from the dark red back to the peaceful blue.

Lana then withdrew her right hand, along with Link and Zelda.

"There." Lana said. "Things should be as they were. And with that... It's time for me to go."

Lana then turned away from the group, and began to walk towards the exit of the temple.

"Wait!" Zelda blurted, stopping Lana. "Will we meet again?"

Lana then turned to the group.

"Maybe. I'll never forget you though." Lana replied with a smile, before turning away and walking through the exit of the temple.

* * *

 _Current music: Main Theme (Hyrule Warriors)_

After the battle, the group of heroes walked across the desert, back to Hyrule Castle. When they arrived at the gates, the gates opened to reveal a cheering army, which is celebrating the end of this war. The heroes walked into the court of the castle, where the army formed a circle around them.

"By the way, I've been trying to say it earlier, but never had the courage to ask... Will you join my quest?" Richard confessed with his fingers pressed together in embarrassment.

"Richard, that's rude..." Impa scolded.

Richard then dropped over in shame.

"... that you left that fact for long... Of course we'll join you, you funny boy." Impa joyously finished.

"Yeah!" Link exclaimed. "We owe you for being a good friend!"

"I'm going as well, if Link is going as well." Zelda commented, smiling. "There'll be a duplicate that will rule the kingdom for the others while I'm gone."

Richard's face then brightened up and turned into a face of happiness.

"Thank you!" Richard cheerfully blurted.

Just then, the Creator appeared in front of Richard, wearing the same robes as when she met Richard at the Core.

"So you managed to purge the Darkness of this world." The Creator said. "It's a joy that not only the world is free from Darkness, but you also unlocked a new persona!"

"So this is a ability I leaned?" Richard questioned the Creator.

"Indeed." The Creator replied with kindness in her voice.

"Wow..." Richard stuttered with overwhelming joy. "I'm as powerful as the heroes..."

"Now... Shall we go back to the Core, and seal the world from the Darkness? " The Creator giggled, as she found Richard's expression funny.

"Of course!" Richard said.

The Creator created the same door that led into the world, except the symbol on the door was a miniature version of Yggdrasil in black and white, with the trunk and branches being black and the leaves white, and then walked through as the heroes followed her in.

 **CONGRATULATIONS!**

 **Hyrule (Warriors Arc) has been purified from the Darkness!**

 **12000 Multiverse Essence has been awarded as a result of the completion of the task.**

* * *

Extra: Helping Lana

After the heroes went back into the Core, Richard opened a door back into Hyrule, without anyone knowing, not even the Creator. He then walked through the plain, before he met Lana at the altar where the Gate of Souls used to be.

Richard saw that Lana was making a giant magic circle of her own, using her finger to concentrate mana into a pointer to form the circle.

"Lana?" Richard warily asked.

Lana heard the voice, and then extinguished the magic at the tip of her finger, before looking up and seeing Richard.

"Ah! Richard!" Lana chirped in a happy mood.

"How's it going from the last time we met?" Richard asked.

"It's going well. I've purged most of the monster remnants, but I'm finding it slow, so that why I am making a magic circle that will summon the Great Fairy." Lana replied.

"I see..." Richard muttered, looking at the incomplete magic circle. "I have something that can help."

"Really!?" Lana exclaimed, as her eyes brightened in joy.

"Of course!" Richard smirked, while pulling out a blue man crystal, that looks almost identical to the Crystals from Final Fantasy, except it bears a white hue, and has rainbow light shining on its edges. "This here is a crystal I found in the Core. I think that it may help you."

Lana happily took the crystal from Richard's hand, and when she touched it, her hands began to glow white, and then she finished the giant incomplete magic within seconds, and then she summoned the Great Fairy without ease, and she went off, ready to finish the monsters.

"Thank you!" Lana exclaimed, expressing her joy.

"It's a little errand compared to what I really have to give you." Richard said, rubbing his head in shyness.

"What is i-" Lana tried to ask, only to meet Richard's face, as Richard hugged and kissed her, lowered her slowly, with his eyes closed in bliss. Lana did the same and returned the kiss, before Richard lifted Lana back up.

"That's what I owe you for worrying you over me." Richard grinned, blushing that he instinctively kisses his first girl/woman.

"I... I don't know what to say..." Lana stuttered, blushing way harder than Richard.

"Just ask me this, will you help me at times of need?" Richard questioned.

"Of course I do! I'm still your friend..." Lana immediately responded.

Richard just beamed a smile, and tapped her softly in the centre of her chest with a perfectly spherical sapphire. Lana then disappeared in a flash of blue light, before she disappeared.

"So... This is how you'll help me?" Lana asked, from the gem, with the gem shining with her every word."The world inside this gem... it's beautiful."

"I found this lying somewhere, and when I took a close look, at it, its a summon gem." Richard explained. "It allows me to summon you. But I don't control it entirely, so you can just simply exit the gem with a bit of concentration."

"I see..." Lana muttered. "So you still are as kind as you were when you met me and saved me."

"Come on!" Richard joyfully exclaimed. "You'll see Zelda when I summon you out again."

Richard then walked towards the materializing door back to the Core, with Lana's gem in his pockets.

* * *

Arc Ending

The screen flashes into white, with the text "Thanks Link and Richard, you're all the heroes of Hyrule" being slowly fading in from left to right.

 _Current Music: Hard Linked (Hyrule Warriors Credits)_

The screen then turns into the same Hyruliean symbol in the original Hyrule Warriors Ending, shining gold for a short time. Suddenly, the screen pans downwards, where a picture of Hyrule Castle is shown. And then Zelda's portrait for the game appears, with the credits of the game coming down, and clips of Zelda are shown with moderate sepia filtering, making them look like pictures of a storybook, including short clips of her dreams, her meeting Link.

The scene then changes into Volga, with his portrait on the side, and the clip where Richard and Link part the flames with their power plays in the background. Next up is Impa, whose portrait appears along with the picture of the Abandoned Fort of Hyrule Fields in the background, and her featured scene is when she blocks Volga's blows in Valley of Seers, then sending the hybrid back with a momentum-filled swing of her blade.

Sheik's portrait appears after Impa, with the picture of Eldin Caves in the background, and a scene of her meeting the trio of heroes. Wizzro is up next, with the picture of the crystal passage in Eldin Caves, is when he appears in Eldin Caves.

Lana's portrait appears after Wizzro, with the picture of Faron Woods. Afterwards, the credits proceed like in the game, except after Link, is when Richard's portrait, where he is smirking and his eyes are looking directly at the screen, and his arms are crossed, wearing the Hyruliean Army armour, and the picture that appears alongside his portrait is the Core, and the cutscene shown is Richard commandeering his troops, and when he did the Spirit Focus Attack on King Doldongo. The scene then fades, leaving only the beige background, where Vai and Navi appears flying from the left side of the screen, and the two of them twirl around each other, while doing a loop, before exiting through the right side of the screen, with the fairy dust trail that they left, illuminating the letters "FIN" written in fancy medieval letters.

* * *

A/N: So the Hyrule Warriors Arc has ended. Hope you guys have voted. Someone already did, so please vote if you haven't so, as I will close the poll when I finish the filler chapter/ intermission chapter. By the way, trying to describe the Kingdom Hearts Dive to the Heart platform, so please comment if it's confusing. As for the new form, his name will be revealed in the filler chapter, and I shortened the chapter, changing the fight with Manhandla to Cia, as I didn't have much time to waste, as I cannot disappoint people by delaying it. The gem? It's a idea I got off Nan the Keyblade Master's stories. That idea is especially his, so don't criticize me for it. It took me about 2 months to write this, as this chapter has over one half of the current fan-fiction's word count, so hope you enjoy it.

I've decided to add some extra features from other games. Try to find out where they are and which game they are from. Also, I brought back the battlefield reports that debut from Musou games, but i've only did a few to avoid repetition of the same thing. Also, like the outro/ending? It's a twist of the credits of the original game, I can't find enough people to fill the slots of the characters that are not encountered in the fanfic, but is originally in the game, so I decided to avoid causing trouble and keep them.


	6. Chapter X-1: A New Friend

Multiversal Chaos Chapter X-1: A New Persona and a old friend.

* * *

After Richard, Impa, Link and Zelda have defeated Cia, and stopped the Gate of Soul incident, almost killing Richard a few times in the process, Richard asked the other three if they would like to join him on his quest to save the multiverse. The three of them agreed, considering the bonds they had with Richard after many battles. Richard also received something called "Multiverse Essence" just before he was going to leave the world with new allies. The four of them made their way back to the Core, not knowing the surprises ahead...

The four of them have landed back in the Core, and just then, Vai appeared in front of Richard, still glowing as brightly as ever.

"Hi Richard!" Vai cheerfully chirped. "I heard that you got Multiverse Essence from clearing the last world.

"Multiverse Essence?" Richard asked, confused at what this 'Multiverse Essence' is.

"Well..." Vai said.

 _Current Music: Your Best Friend (Undertale)_

"Multiverse Essence is basically pure energy that is produced from the Core, which can give a person great power if abundant amounts can be collected." Vai explained without stopping or changing her voice. "If this was a game, it would be the currency of it. By clearing the world, the flow of Multiverse Essence is strengthened due to the Darkness being purged from this world, so it gives you a 'reward' of Multiverse Essence. Multiverse Essence can be used to strengthen your abilities, or can be used to gain new ones. It can be used over at the Essence Shop, which is right behind you."

"I see. Thank you Vai." Richard said kindly.

"You're welcome! Bye!" Vai chirped, before she went back into Richard's pockets.

 _Current Music:_ _The Song of Wind and Waterfall_ _(Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2)_

Richard looked behind him, and saw a bazaar stand, that had a sign that showed all the things for sale, and there is a sign that has the space background and the words "ESSENCE SHOP" on it in white bubble font , with a cartoon star comet streaking through the words. What surprised Richard the most is that the Creator was the shopkeeper of the very stand, except her hair was ginger-red, she was wearing a red velvet dress, and she had star earrings, and she had red leather gloves."

"H-h-how are you the shopkeeper of this s-stand!?" Richard frightfully stuttered, pointing a shaking finger at her.

"Simple." The girl said, in a voice that is quite high-pitched, yet dominative. "You got me mixed up with the Creator, I'm the Shop-Mistress."

"Oh my..." Richard gasped with surprise. "A beautiful girl being my shopkeeper... It's like I'm dreaming, but I'm not..."

"Anyway, want to explore my wares? You got 12000 Multiverse Essence from the last trip~" The shop-mistress cooed.

 **ESSENCE SHOP**

 **Upgrades:**

 **Summon Power+ Lvl 1: 1000 Essence**

 **This perk will increase the duration and strength of summons by 30%, useful in fights with multiple summons (E.g, if Lana does 300 damage per hit, and stays in battle for 10 minutes, the perk causes her to do 390 damage per hit)**

 **Summon Defence+ Lvl 1: 1000 Essence**

 **This perk will increase the vitality and defence of summons by 30%, useful when summons are alone in battle. (E.g if Lana has 50 defence, and has 1000 HP, the perk will cause her to have 65 defence, and have 1300 HP)**

 **Perks:**

 **Real Friends, Real Bonds: 2000 Essence**

 **When Richard is fighting alongside Real Worlders, his stats and Real Worlders' stats will increase by 50% as long as they are less than 10 metres apart.**

 **Pyromancer Apprentice: 1000 Essence**

 **This perk will allow the person to have the power to learn and use basic fire spells (e.g Fire from Kingdom Hearts)**

 **Ablities:**

 **Global Language: 2000 Essence**

 **This ability will allow the person to speak of any language that is known around the world, e.g French, Japanese, Vietnamese**

 **Skills:**

 **Attacker Aura: 2000 Essence**

 **A spell that can used to boost the power of all attacks, magical or physical, by 200%. The duration of the buff is 5 minutes, and has a cool-down of 15 minutes.**

 **Magical Barrier: 5000 Essence**

 **Negates a single magic attack, regardless of strength. The cooldown is 30 minutes.**

Richard scrolled through the entire stock, and then opened his mouth to answer, only to be stopped by The Shop-Mistress with a universal stop hand-sign.

"You don't need to say it." The Shop-Mistress drawled. "I already know what you want. You want to buy all upgrades in the stock, buy the Real Bonds perk and Global Language, don't you?"

"How did you-" Richard tried to reply, before being cut-off.

"It's because I'm the Shop-Mistress, silly~" The Shop-Mistress smirked.

Suddenly, Richard felt that he has learnt something new, and felt something grow in power.

"Clear more worlds, and I'll expand my stock." The Shop-Mistress said. "Be a good customer, and visit my shops (:3)"

The Shop-Mistress did a air-kiss to emphasize the heart in her words, and when it hit Richard, he blushed so hard that his skin colour looked identical to a tomato's colour.

 **ITEMS PURCHASED!**

 **REMAINING ESSENCE: 6000**

 **THANK YOU FOR BUYING AT THE ESSENCE SHOP!**

Richard then thought about something, and then suddenly had a idea, signified by a anime light-bulb appearing above his head. He then found a blue sapphire on the ground, and then went through the Hyrule Warriors door.

 _After convincing Lana to be a summon ally..._

Richard walked out of the door, now holding the same sapphire gem in his hand, plus one Lana inside it.

"Well, looks like buying the summon upgrades was a good idea after all." Richard smirked.

"What do you mean?" Lana asked.

"It's too hard for you to understand, Lana." Richard replied. "Even with that genius mind of yours."

"I see." Lana said, before the gem went back to silence, indicating that she has finished talking.

Richard pocketed the gem, and walked towards the Hyrule Warriors group and the Creator, who are together.

"So where do I go next, Miss Creator?" Richard asked.

"The next worlds are affected are the worlds of Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty Black Ops, Call of Duty World at War, Sonic Generations, Time Crisis 4, Regular Show, Lollipop Chainsaw, Star Fox Assault, Metroid Fusion,Super Mario Galaxy, Metal Gear Revengeance, and Pokemon Black/White." The Creator responded.

"Really!?" Richard said in surprise due to the vast variety of world that he has to clear. "And I have to do all that how!?"

"Don't worry." The Creator calmly said. "You don't have to split to do the worlds. It's like Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. You have a set of worlds to clear one by one, before you get the next set of worlds, as it'll take me a while to find other worlds affected by the Darkness."

"Ah. I see." Richard said stoically.

Richard then proceeded to pace about the Core, thinking about which world to head to first. He loved to go to Metal Gear Revengeance, as he wished to get some skills off Raiden, and/or get him to become his ally, but he began to shudder when he remembered how the non-cyborgs got decimated by cyborg grunts. He may have a good sword, but he'll need to get loads of experience with any blade before he goes there. He thought of Time Crisis 4, which luckily he could do, due to him having wielded guns before, whether they were live or not. Pokemon seemed like a good option, as he could tame the legendaries as his allies, but he dismissed it, as it would take ages and ages to get to a level that can defeat them.

Lollipop Chainsaw had no worries, as he recently learned how to use a chainsaw on wood, so using it on zombies would be no problem for him, but if Link, Impa and Zelda enter with him, they'll be unable to use the chainsaws well, and could end up getting killed or infected. Super Mario Galaxy was the thought that made Richard dread the most, as he was so scared of black holes, that he would want nothing to do with anything that has even a minuscule black hole around them. Regular Show seemed good, but he decided that he will only get essence from it, due to having no strong allies in that dimension. Metroid Fusion was acceptable, as he could learn the Chozo Arts off Samus, and get her as a ally. Each of the Call of Duty dimensions make him interested in them, as he could alter history, and recruit each of the heroes to join his cause.

However there was only one thing that burned his mind with curiosity.

Sonic Generations.

In this world, he could recruit the fastest thing alive, Sonic, and he is the most beneficial ally for his cause, as Sonic has many abilities that will be useful in the uture, plus, considering that there was a Hyrule DLC for Sonic Lost World, the Hyrule Warriors crew might be very familiar with his world, so they would work best in this dimension than in others.

Richard then made his decision, and turned to the Creator.

"Creator, i made my decision. We're off to-" Richard tried to say, before a bright flash of light engulfed his vision, causing his to cover his eyes with his right hand.

 _Music cuts_

When the light subsided, there stood a boy that had brown hair, and his face colour was a in-between of tan and pink, blue eyes, wearing a black and red flannel shirt with black jeans and black Nike shoes, and has brown straight hair. He was about the same height as Richard, but his frame was slightly more buff than Richard, although it was clear that the newcomer looked slightly slim. He was wearing a confused look, and was looking around the entire area with confused glances.

"Where am I..?" The newcomer said in a slight Australian accent, although he sounded more American than Australian.

"What the hell!?" Richard cussed, knowing who the newcomer was. "Gus!?"

Gus turned to Richard, and bore a surprised look.

"Richard!" Gus exclaimed, running to Richard, and giving him a hug, before letting go a while later. "I don't know how I got here. I was in my home, and suddenly, a purple portal appears from under me, which made me appear in this place!"

Richard then gave a hard glare to the Creator, who was putting her hands behind her back, and innocently whistling.

"Did you do this?" Richard sternly asked the Creator.

"No. I was actually planning to get him way later, but somehow, some force made him fall into here..." The Creator replied, not even affected by the stern tone.

 _Music returns_

"Let me guess, the Darkness fucked it up?" Richard questioned.

"Yes." The Creator answered.

Richard then turned back Gus, who was looking at Richard with curiosity.

"Come with me, Gus." Richard said kindly. "I got something that'll help."

Gus just nodded, and then followed Richard to the Essence Shop.

"So..." The Shop-Mistress drawled. "A new customer?"

"Yep." Richard replied, pointing his thumb back at Gus. "And I'm vouching for the Apprentice Pyromancer perk for him."

"Well now." The Shop-Mistress said. "Aren't you a gentleman~"

Gus then faintly glowed with blue, before it faded.

"What was that?" Gus asked, noticing the aura.

"Your ability." Richard replied with a smile. "It's a perk that allows you to use fire magic, but only basic ones. Try putting your hand out, and try to make a fireball."

Gus looked at his hands, then pushed his right hand, before he closed his eyes to concentrate, which resulted in a small fireball to form at his palm and fire forward for some time, before it faded away.

"Not bad." Richard commented. "Practice will make perfect. Maybe this perk will give you some more spells to use."

"Wow..." Gus muttered in awe, looking at his hands, and his new ability. He then smiled, and fired a few fireballs, before he stopped.

"Guess this is useful." Gus said. "Thanks, Richard."

"No worries." Richard replied. "Anything for a friend, Gus, anything for a friend."

The two of them walked back to the centre, where the group was.

"Gus, meet the LoZ heroes, Link, Impa, and Zelda." Richard announced with a loud voice.

Impa then put out her hand.

"I'm Impa. Richard may have not told me about you, but you seem to be friendly." Impa said.

"Likewise." Gus replied kindly, before he grabbed the hand and shaked it softly.

"As I was saying, we're going to Sonic Generations." Richard said. "Familiar to you, Link?"

"Yeah..." Link answered. "I remembered that Sonic was found in the Hyrule Fields, before he disappeared through a portal..."

"Well, it's the opposite." Richard admitted. "You're going to his world."

"Cool!" Link exclaimed happily.

"I'm going if Link goes." Zelda said.

"Me too." Impa added.

"Me three." Gus added as well.

"Then off we go!' Richard cheerfully exclaimed.

The five heroes go through the door to Sonic Generations, ready to save another dimension from nothingness.

* * *

Preview of Next Chapter: What's with Classic and Modern?

 _Hiya all! It's been a while. I found a friend in the Core, and I got him new powers to fight alongside me. Guess he was hyped to save the multi-verse with me. Anyway, we just entered Sonic Generations, and we have landed in the grassy plains. But if I know my games well, there is also a twist to this game..._

 **The five heroes met Sonic on his way to the party.**

 **"Hey Link. I think that you should talk to him first." Richard whispered to Link, while Sonic was running his way.**

 **Link just nodded, and then walked out, before putting his hand up as a stop sign.**

 **Sonic saw Link, and then screeched to a halt.**

 **"What's the problem, buddy Link?" Sonic asked. "Why are you here?"**

 **Richard then walked out of the bush, surprising Sonic, who jumped and fell backwards.**

 **"I brought him here." Richard politely said.**


	7. Chapter 5: Classic and Modern?

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 5:What's with Classic and Modern?

In the Previous Chapter:

 **"Multiverse Essence?"**

 **"It's because I'm the Shop-Mistress, silly~"**

 **"The next worlds are affected are the worlds of Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty Black Ops, Call of Duty World at War, Sonic Generations, Time Crisis 4, Regular Show, Lollipop Chainsaw, Star Fox Assault, Metroid Fusion,Super Mario Galaxy, Metal Gear Revengeance, and Pokemon Black/White."**

 **"Where am I..?"**

* * *

The five heroes went through the Sonic Generations door, and ended up on the Green Hills (Modern).

"Let's find Sonic first." Richard said. "We can find a way to follow him, so that we can follow the plot, and help Sonic when it gets hairy for him."

"What plot?" Link said.

"This- Never mind." Richard moaned, just remembering that game characters are oblivious to the plots of games, excluding Kid Icarus Uprising, a game that almost broke the 4th wall of reality.

The five heroes met Sonic on his way to the party.

"Hey Link. I think that you should talk to him first." Richard whispered to Link, while Sonic was running his way.

Link just nodded, and then walked out, before putting his hand up as a stop sign.

Sonic saw Link, and then screeched to a halt.

"What's the problem, buddy Link?" Sonic asked. "Why are you here?"

Richard then walked out of the bush, surprising Sonic, who jumped and fell backwards.

"I brought him here." Richard politely said.

"Whoah!" Sonic exclaimed. "Who the hell are you, kid?"

"Kid?" Richard calmly replied, despite the comment burning him with hatred in his inner heart. "No, I'm a teen, and a human. Know Christopher?"

"Uh..." Sonic stammered, confused. "Who's he?"

"Never mind..." Richard muttered in disappointment.

Suddenly, Vai banged around in Richard's pocket, and Richard did the usual routine of releasing Vai.

"The Creator also gave you a new skill. It's called "Log V", which acts like a video game menu." Vai explained.

"Huh..." Richard sighed, annoyed that he had the skill and he was unaware. "Guess you just told me that to male me progress like a *REDACTED*, right?'

"Yep!" Vai cheerfully responded. "Bye!"

 **New Skill: Log V**

 **A skill that allows a person to use a menu from any game. Unlike other game HUD skills, this can be used on worlds not from games.**

 _Current Music: Dearly Beloved Remashed (Retrospecter: THE RETRO REMIX COMPILATION)_

Richard then put out his right hand, and then time paused around him, with everything turning greyscale as his vision was suddenly consumed by a Kingdom Hearts 2 menu. There are changes however, as all the party members are indicated on the right side, in Kingdom Heart 1 life bars, with indication of their life points, including the MP bars, and to his own surprise, a Drive Gauge on his own life bar. On the left side, every option is there, excluding the Journal option, and it even has the white hand pointing at a selection. The Munny sign is changed to Multiverse Essence, and his Time was 28:41, and the Menu sign was written in white fancy handwriting letters, and both panels at the top and bottom of the screen, are white with golden chi letters dispersed everywhere.

"Interesting..." Richard commented, before waving his right hand at the screen, and a glowing circle of sparkles indicated his hand on the screen. Richard then moved around his right hand as he got used to it. He then selected the "Abilities" option by tapping it with a finger, and it opened to a screen identical to the Ability menu of the same game, with the exception that there is no limit. The Growth abilities he has is "Adept Swordsman", and all his attacks are called Action abilities, including the newly obtained Zantetsuken, and his only Support ability was "Light Gain+". Richard's right eyebrow rose in curiosity of the new skill, and tapped it. What he got was this:

 **Light Gain+: Gives all skills and weapons purely of, or containing the Light affinity a boost in** **proficiency (Weapon Level) or Skill (Magic Level)gain by 300%**

"I like." Richard simply said while grinning.

Richard then clicked the off button, signified by a huge red X button on the top-right corner of the screen, and time returned to normal.

 _Current Music: Sonic's_

Richard's group went out of the bushes one by one.

"Sorry, Sonic." Gus said. "We didn't mean to surprise you."

"No problems!" Sonic smirked. "If you're good, I have nothing against you "Humans". By the way, I'm looking for my friends. Do you know where they went? There's a yellow two-tail fox named Tails, and the red knuckle-head echidna, Knuckles, and there's the...girl hedgehog named Amy Rose."

"I do." Richard replied. "Follow me!"

Richard ran off to where the surprise party was held, and the others followed, with Sonic blazing in front.

Meanwhile, at the party, Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit with Cheese the Chaos, was finishing up stringing the balloons on the bench, while Rouge the Bat and Blaze the Cat were placing the food on the park bench. Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy the Bee were preparing the party poppers, and Knuckles the Echidna was just preparing the plates on the table. Tails the Fox returned while huffing.

"He'll be here any second! Everyone to their positions!" Tails huffed, before sprinting back into position with the others.

Soon after, Richard's group arrived, with Sonic sliding sideways to slow down.

"Hey guys, what's going on? You having a party or something?" Sonic asked.

Just then, the eight anthros separated to show a cake with the classic Sonic icon on it, and chilli dogs on the left of it, and cupcakes and drinks on its right.

"SURPRISE!" The entire group shouted.

The party poppers went off just after, raining confetti.

"Awww... You guys..." Sonic said.

"Like to give you directions to the surprise party, Sonic." Richard commented, whule grinning at the scene. "You DID ask where they were."

"Now hold it right there. Who are you?" Tails asked, with a mix between anger and fear.

"I'm just a innocent boy." Richard responded calmly with a smile, while putting his hands in a"Meh" pose. "Besides, you should enjoy the party, like my friends are."

Tails looked back, and saw that Blaze and Impa glared at each other intensely.

"So you wield the power of fire, cat creature... Interesting." Impa stoically stated.

"Same to you, you seem to know how to use water magic well." Blaze replied in the same tone.

Link and Knuckles were doing a arm wrestle, with both of them showing stress on their face, until Link used a boost of power to overcome Knuckles, and bring his arm down.

While the party went on, Vector grabbed a bunch of chilli dogs, and threw them up to chomp them down, only to shortly after to begin to choke, coughing hardly, with Charmy the Bee trying to pat his back to make him gag whatever is choking him.

"Three secs." Richard said, while turning around and then walking in front of Vector, and pulling out of his backpack the shield of Heaven's Will.

"Excuse me, but can you please stand up straight? I know how to fix you up, but you need to stand straight and keep your mouth open, okay?" Richard calmly asked Vector.

Vector just nodded with stinging eyes, and then did what Richard said.

"This may be a bit... winding." Richard warned, while drawing his right arm, and then landing a strong charge into Vector's stomach, which caused Vector to gag out a soggy piece of chilli dog.

"Thanks, mate." Vector cheerfully complimented Richard. "What's your name, boy?"

"It's Richard." Richard replied. "What's yours?"

"It's Vector!" Vector cheerfully stated, while reaching out his hand"Nice to meet ya, Richard!"

"Same to you, Vector." Richard said, gripping the hand and shaking it lightly.

' _I already know their names, but to play it safe and not crack the timeline in two, I'll pretend that I don't know them fully.'_ Richard thought.

Tails went up to Sonic, while Vector and Richard were shaking hands.

"It's kinda impossible to surprise you, Sonic." Tails admitted. "You're so fast that you would've found us before we even finished the preparations."

"Well... If it wasn't for that kid, I would have been taken by surprise." Sonic responded.

"Anyway, Happy Birthday Sonic! Hope you like this!" Tails said, while picking up a plate with a chilli dog that bears a red and white striped ribbon tied into a perfect bow.

Sonic just snatched the chilli dog off the plate with fast speeds, and then took a bite off it.

"Like it?" Sonic muttered with food in his mouth, before flipping over to Tails, and doing a thumbs-up "I love it!"

The party continued, as Richard got his group under the tree.

"Whatever happens next, don't panic everyone." Richard assured the other members of his party. "What will happen may be frightening, but it won't be dangerous for you."

"What do you mean, Richard?" Gus asked confused.

"Turn around." Richard ordered.

The entire group turned around, only to see in the sky, a orb of darkness was forming, and then exploded in a loud shockwave.

"Oh. That's what you-WHOAH!" Gus tried to say, only to be blown by a ferocious wind, and trying to keep his balance like the other people.

Anything on the table or near it however, was blown away far into the air, including the birthday chilli dog that Sonic had in his hands.

The wind settled down after a while, but only just before Tails pointing towards the sky.

"Sonic! What's that?" Tails asked.

The darkness orb has become a purple portal that is fuming magenta smoke around the edges, as a hand made of black darkness came out to latch the edge of the portal, only for another to appear, only for a humanoid monster made out of darkness, with cogs and gears embedded in his back, also made of darkness, and its face resembled a distorted psycho mask, with blue light shining through the eyes and its mouth.

"What's it doing?" Tails asked again.

"Everyone, grab something, NOW!" Richard ordered with a harsh and loud voice.

The unknown monstrosity crossed its arms, before letting out a distorted roar and pushing the arms out, as smaller portals began to appear around it, each bearing place within the Sonic Universe, and a suction sound can be heard as the air suddenly began to vacuum around the portals.

The first to go were Espio, Charmy and Vector, which were taken by surprise and were instantly sucked into separate portals. Next were Knuckles, Rouge and Amy Rose, who managed to heed the warning and grabbed onto the bench, only to be sucked in as well.

"Hey! Not cool!" Sonic exclaimed, before running up to it.

"Sonic! Don't! The Time Eater can't be hurt now!" Richard shouted, while holding for his dear life on the trunk of the tree.

Sonic jumped up, and did a Homing Attack, only for the Time Eater to swat him away, sending Sonic rolling backwards.

Blaze the Cat went in soon after, and Tails was losing his grip.

"Help us, Sonic!" Tails cried, before his grip was lost, and he was sucked in as well.

But the vacuum hasn't subsided yet, as Link and Impa, each grabbing a branch were sucked into different portals, as they each cried out as they were sucked in, and Zelda was sucked in soon after, when she couldn't hold the trunk any further.

"Grab my hand, Gus!" Richard yelled, while stretching his hand out, while his other hand was now placed on the thickest branch of the tree.

Gus tried to grab Richard's hand, only to lose the grip on his other hand.

"RICHARDDDDDDDDDD!" Gus cried, before he was sucked in as well.

Finally, the vacuum subsided, and Richard fell to the ground with a loud THUMP!, and then got up, before dusting himself.

"Great... Looks like the plot also decided to suck my team as well." Richard moaned. "Fuck..."

Richard heard Sonic groan, before he rushed over and lent his hand to Sonic, who got up with his help.

"What the hell happened?" Sonic asked.

"Time Eater happened." Richard replied. "Come, we need to find a way out of here."

Just when the two of them began to run, a white light suddenly began to grow over their surrounding.

"What the he-" Richard swore just before the light enveloped the both of them, blinding them.

When the light subsided, they found themselves in a vast white space.

"Where am I?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know..." Richard muttered with uncertainty.

The two of them walked for a while, before they walked up to a sculpture of the Green Hill Zone, all white, and having a passage that leads inside the sculpture's cave. Beside the sculpture, however, was a frozen version of Tails, who was completely white, and Impa, who is in the same condition. Tails was reaching out with his right hand to the sky, while Impa was still expressionless, even frozen.

"That sculpture..." Richard murmured, while reminiscing something. "Could it be!?"

Sonic just simply tapped his foot, before rushing inside the cave, and disappear within the shadows.

"Hey!" Richard yelled. "Wait for me!"

Richard ran inside the cave, before also disappearing.

* * *

 **? Act 2 (Green Hill Zone Modern)**

The two of them landed again inside Green Hill Zone, except they are at a different location.

"What the!?" Sonic stuttered. " We were here just a moment ago!"

"Yeah..." Richard huffed, while double-taking to catch his breath.

Richard then heard a pip sound in his head, and he turned around to find the source of the sound, only to find it was IN his head.

Richard then activated Log V, and a blue notification, sticking truly to the notifications in Kingdom Hearts, that stated that he got a temporary skill that is called Run Like Sonic. With curiosity, he clicked the notification with his finger, and a description appeared in place of the notification.

 **Run Like Sonic!**

 **Since you are in a Sonic franchise game, and you do not possess most of the skills that Sonic has, this skill will allow to use the same skills as Sonic's, such as the usage of Colour Wisps, a variation of the Homing Attack, and many more. You can still use your own skills with this.**

"WHAT THE DOUBLE FUCK!?" Richard yelled loudly inside his head, as the menu mutes all sounds outside the world as time stops. "Then again, I would've needed this later..."

Richard just pressed the exit button, and his surroundings returned to normal.

"Well, let's get that goal ring, shall we?" Richard said with confidence and a smile, while he positioned himself in a runner's starting position.

"What goal ring?" Sonic asked, confused.

"Never mind..." Richard muttered with disappointment.

* * *

 _A brief tutorial, and many different cusses and swears from Richard, and a S rank result later..._

Richard and Sonic slowly walked out of the teleporter sculpture, with Richard having a face that looks like that he is at his limit of anger.

"That stupid motherfuzzing, doping robo-crap..." Richard angrily hissed through his teeth.

"For the 213th time, Richard..." Sonic asked in a annoyed tone. "Where did you get those powers?"

Richard instantly took a deep breath, and began to look at Sonic calmly.

"I basically got a skill that makes me able to use your skills for now. So can you please just let me calm?" Richard calmly replied.

"Okay." Sonic said.

Just then, ciricles of shining sparkles appeared around the feet of Impa and Tails, and then began to rise up to cover the entire body with sparkles, which slowly brought colour back to the two people, and they suddenly unfroze. Tails blinked a while, before moving his body, while Impa just walked over to Richard as soon as she was free.

Tails turned over to Sonic, before giving him a warm smile.

"Thanks Sonic!" Tails cheerfully complimented. "I thought I was dead! Floating without a body in a black limbo really sucks..."

"Black limbo? Frozen people!?" Richard gasped. "That can only one thing! This must be-"

"Allow me to interrupt. This is White Space." A calm voice similar to his stated.

Richard then swilled around, only to see a identical copy of him, except that the copy's hair is light blue, and his eye colour is dark blue, and he bears a knowing expression, and he was dressed in a blue version of the White Mage Robe from Final Fantasy IV, and the spikes on the clothes are still red, and he wears leather boots.

"You seem... like a Persona..." Richard quietly stuttered.

"Exactly." The unknown boy replied. "I'm your Embodiment of Wisdom and Magic, Mimir. In the ancient Earth mythology, they say that I was a Great Sage, and that I was beheaded for Odin, and used as something to tell the future and prophecies. It is nonsense. As the true Mimir of the Multiverse, even Odin would bow down to me."

"Hmm... I read about it..." Richard replied. "Not a good way to go as a great mortal, right?"

"Absolutely not!" Mimir responded, his tone raised to show his annoyance.

"Well, can you stay within me for now?" Richard asked.

"Only if you show me that you can summon Ares." Mimir intoned.

"Okay..." Richard muttered, before he closed his eyes, and touched his head with his second finger of his right hand, before a red aura began to emanate around Richard, before it was focused at one point, and then launched off as a beam of light, which caused a pillar of light of the same colour to rise, and Ares, now dressed in his original armour, wearing the Crimson Fatalis from Monster Hunter, which the change that there is no horns on his helmet, and the wings on the back of the armour are fully black. He also bears a look-alike of the Grim Reaper's scythe, except the pole is made out of titanium, and flame decals are printed around the pole, and the blade of the scythe is white-hot, with white and red flames dancing all over it. Impa smiled at Are's attire.

"Long time no see, Mimir." Ares softly growled, as if to acknowledge a person.

"Indeed." Mimir replied.

Sonic looked with awe at both Ares and Mimir.

"W-what are you!?" Sonic stuttered, frightened that there is not one, but three Richards in front of him.

"Relax, Sonic." Richard assured, while putting his right hand on Sonic's right shoulder. "They're just copies of me, except they are... How should I say this... Gods?"

"Oh... But still, it frightens me that you can duplicate yourself like this..." Sonic replied, with slight worry in his voice.

"Anyway... Since we found the goal ring for this act, the world represented by this sculpture is returning back to normal slowly." Richard said, then pointing at the sculpture. "Look!"

Sonic turned around, to see that the passage in the sculpture has returned its green and brown colour, although the rest of it is still white.

"This represents that a part of this world is restored, and being rightfully placed back in its original timeline. That should explain why it is familiar to you." Mimir explained slowly. "Anyway, Richard. To make us return to your mindscape, you just have to mentally do the command, like you did to summon Ares. It seems that you have good control over the summoning of your own Personas."

"But why then is the rest of it white?" Sonic asked.

"Because the "other you" hasn't found this place and cleared it like we did. Only when the two versions of us have each cleared it, that this world will fully restore itself." Richard responded to Sonic's question.

"Other me?" Sonic questioned, not knowing that there is also a copy of him somewhere here.

"Yeah, but I doubt that you will see him for a while." Richard answered.

"Man, this is as strange as rescuing genies in magic books,, or saving aliens in a interstellar amusement park." Sonic groaned. "I'm worried about my friends."

"Speaking of which, I saw some buildings over there..." Tails added, pointing at the white Chemical Plant Zone sculpture. "But they look weird..."

"That's a good place to look, Sonic." Richard stated. "Let's go."

"Right, Richard." Sonic replied. "We'll be back, Tails."

The two of them left, with Richard summoning both Mimir and Ares back to his mindscape, and Tails watching them from a distance. Suddenly, the Classic Sonic, having shorter but thicker quills, and being shorter than the Modern Sonic, ran up to Tails, and a purple portal appeared just above the ground, and a 12 year-old boy falls out screaming, before landing with a THUD!. He dusts himself, wearing almost the same clothes as Richard, except he is now wearing a black vest over his He n looks around, confused about the surroundings, and then saw Tails and walked up to him.

Tails turned around, and saw the Classic Sonic and the boy.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you two were going to be back soon!" Tails gasped. "I thought you left!"

"Excuse me?" The boy said. "I know who you are, Tails, but frankly, I never meet you."

Classic Sonic also nodded to approve the boy's statement, and then when the boy turned around to see Classic Sonic, he surprised himself.

"What in the world of!?" The boy exclaimed. "i know that this is something in the Sonic franchise, but this really bites the biscuit! I know every game in the franchise, and none of them look like this!"

Classic Sonic just scratched his head, wondering what he was saying.

"Oy... Never mind." The boy groaned. "Anyway, I'll follow you, Sonic..."

Classic Sonic jumped, and then sprinted away, and the boy took off with the same speed, to his own surprise, and the Green Hill Zone sculpture began to return to its full colour, with nothing white.

* * *

 _After Both Sonics clear both versions of Chemical Plant Zone..._

 _Current music: Green Hill Zone Remix (Sonic Generations)_

Richard and Sonic walked down the area, and then Tails appeared in front of them.

"Sonic, Richard!" Tails called out.

"Tails!" Sonic exclaimed.

Tails landed, before pointing to the pink water.

"This Chemical Plant seems familiar..." Tails stated. "The smell is something i can't forget, and that pink water makes me cringe and shiver for some reason..."

 _"If you can recall, Richard. This area is the Chemical Plant Zone of the first Sonic game."_ Mimir mentally explained. _"Back then, Sonic and Tails had issues with water, especially this kind of water."_

 _"I know..."_ Richard mentally replied. _" It's sad that the fastest being alive would drown in just seconds in water..."_

"Yeah... This place is giving me deja vu again..." Sonic groaned, before the three of them entered through a Time Portal, which returned them to White Space.

Meanwhile, both the Chemical Zone sculpture and Amy were being returned back into its full colour, and as soon as Amy could move, she twirled around, and struck her famous pose.

"You saved me, Sonic! I was afraid that I'd never be able to flirt with you again!" Amy cheerfully cried.

Sonic just facepalmed, and Richard just flustered and pointing towards himself.

"But what about me!? I saved you as well!" Richard exclaimed, annoyed.

"You're not as handsome as my love, Sonic." Amy replied coldly.

Richard just froze up, while sucking through his teeth.

 _"Ooo... That's brutal like hell!"_ Are mentally blurted. _"I like it. I really, really do!"_

 _"Just no, Ares, Just... no."_ Richard mentally replied to Ares.

* * *

 _After the completion of both acts in Sky Sanctuary Zone_

Classic Sonic and the boy walk out of the area.

"Well, that was fun, I think this game might be a game where stages all over the games are played in HD!" The boy exclaimed. "Too bad its only 2D platforming..."

Classic Sonic looked back at the Sky Sanctuary Zone, and saw that it has returned back to colour, and so did Knuckles, who did a few punches in the air after being unfrozen.

"Thanks, Sonic You did a good job back there." Knuckles complimented. "But did you gain weight?"

Classic Sonic looked at his body, and frowned while rubbing his beige belly.

* * *

 _After beating Metal Sonic for the Chaos Emerald, and getting both keys for the Boss Gate_

Modern Sonic and Richard were grinning, while Sonic was flipping the Purple Chaos Emerald in his right hand.

"Metal Sonic 2 easy for me." Richard smirked, trying to use a meme. "Get rekt, robot!"

"Man... You have a weird language..." Sonic muttered.

"What? It's called a meme." Richard replied, hearing Sonic muttering. "It's supposed to be weird for fun."

The two of them went up to the Boss Gate, which was a circular mechanic contraption with three purple key slots, and a purple round gate blocking it. On the right was a wall of darkness, which halted their advance.

"Here goes." Richard said, before he pulled out the three keys that he got from the challenges, and they moved as if being controlled, and went into the locks and a unlocking sound was heard, followed by a rumble as the round gate began to roll upwards, showing a purple portal inside it, adn they entered the portal wthout a second thought, as the surroundings distorted into darkness.

When the darkness cleared, they found themselves in a lonely Victorian ballroom, with a chandelier, and on their left was a row of mirrors. Sonic went over to have a look at his reflection, only to see it is distorted, and Richard came over to see that there was the Classic Sonic and... a younger Richard!?

Richard was shocked beyond words, as he saw his younger self, cocking his head to the side, getting close to the glass window, and inspecting him.

"No..." Richard muttered with shock. "This isn't right... It's only Sonic that should have been split in his Modern and Classic halves..."

The younger Richard then gasped when he realized when he saw his older self, and the Sonics knocked the same spot on the glass window.

"Hello?" Richard asked. "Hello!?"

The younger Richard just did the "I can't hear you" sign, which involves tapping his right ear, with the second finger of the right hand, and Richard then rammed into the window, getting his hands on the window.

"You need to get out of here." Richard said to his younger self. "It's not safe for you here! Can you hear me!? You have to find a way out!"

The younger Richard just wore a confused expression.

"GODDAMNIT!" Richard bellowed, before drawing out Heaven's Will, and hacking at the window with all his fury, leaving a few scratches, which eventually healed like it was made out of regenerative mould.

"Whoah!" Sonic said, surprised by Richard's outburst. 'What now!?"

"Sonic, this IS you. Except its a younger version of you." Richard explained, while huffing. "But what caused me to go berserk... IS THAT MY YOUNGER SELF ENDED UP HERE AS WELL!"

The younger Richard and Classic Sonic looked at Modern Sonic and Richard talking, and then at themselves with confused expressions.

"Take a good look at yourselves, you two!" Eggman's voice bellowed through the entire room.

"Dr Eggman!?" Sonic exclaimed.

Suddenly, a door begins to appear on the other end of the room, and is open with white light shining through it.

"It's the last look you'll get before I close your eyes forever! Hoo Hoo Hoo!" Eggman hooted.

Classic Sonic took off after the door, and the younger Richard said something to him, before running off as well, which Richard perceived from his lips, is "I'm going as well!"

"After them, Sonic!" Richard shouted. "If Eggman kills them, neither of us will exist!"

The two of them run to the door, and jump, only for the door to close on them suddenly, and they planted onto the door, before they fell back on the ground.

"Shit..." Richard hissed, while rubbing his nose with a hand. "Let's hope that the younger me can use those powers well..."

* * *

Younger Richard and Classic Sonic landed right in a section of the Death Egg.

"I remember this place!" Younger Richard said. "This is the hallway of the Death Egg from Sonic 2!"

Both of them run along the hallway, and then almost fall over a hole, before they regained balance.

Suddenly, a mechanical whir can be heard, as the Death Egg Robot appears on a service elevator, before it activates with the red lights in the eyes turning on, before whirling its body, and shifting to its battle position. The elevator that they were on activated almost instantly and went up.

"Come on powers... Don't fail me now!" Younger Richard exclaimed.

The Death Egg Robot began to rear its right arm to attack, before striking it into the ground where Classic Sonic and Younger Richard stood. Both of them dodge to the other side, and the arm gets stuck in the ground.

"Sonic!" Younger Richard yelled. "His weak-point is the backside! Get behind him!"

Classic Sonic just nodded at Richard, and then ran up the arm, before jumping behind the Death Egg Robot, and then using a homing attack to attack its green glowing backside core. The Death Egg Robot flew forward, and Richard slid under the robot, and then jumped up to punch it with a hard uppercut, dealing more damage. This process repeated for a few times, with a few close calls for Classic Sonic and Younger Richard.

After a while, they landed in a area where there were platforms in all four directions. The Death Egg Robot proceeded to attack them with its retractable arms again, but Classic Sonic saw the switches on certain platforms that released bombs, and lured the attack to a bomb, immobilizing the robot. Both heroes went across the arm, and Classic Sonic did a Homing attack, while Richard kicked the robot with a hard downwards kick. After a few repeats of bombing the arm and attacking the head, Richard jumped up high, and performed a parody of a certain taijutsu.

"HEAVEN KICK OF PAIN!" Younger Richard yelled, before lifting his leg up in the air, and using the falling momentum to do a devastating kick, which caused a huge shock-wave to appear. When Richard jumped off the head, the entire robot exploded with one big huge explosion, leaving a husk of the robot on the ground. When Classic Sonic went up to the husk, it was forced apart by a shockwave, and the Time Eater appears again, holding a orb burning with purple fire.

"What? No! No! Sonic, save me!" Eggman's voice said inside the orb, before the Time Eater went back inside the portal holding the orb, and the portal closed. A smaller portal appeared beside Younger Richard and Classic Sonic, and they went through it.

When they went back to White Space, Modern Sonic was inspecting Classic Sonic, and Richard ran up to Younger Richard, and gave him a relieved hug.

"Jesus..." Richard cried. "Why did they bring you here? I thought only Sonic would be split."

"I don't know... older me..." Younger Richard stuttered, unsure of what happened. "I was at school, and suddenly a purple portal sucks me in and spits me here..."

"Thank god that you were given Sonic's powers..." Richard said. " If you didn't... I dread to think it..."

"Sonic's power?" Younger Richard questioned. "That's good for me... I guess..."

"I can't believe that there's two of me..." Sonic moaned.

Suddenly, A classic version of Tails appears.

"I think I figured it out!" Classic Tails stated.

"Yeah, me too." Tails responded to his classic counterpart.

"Doubles of us..." Classic Tails said.

"Places and enemies of our past..." Tails added.

"We're travelling through tine and space!" Both Tails finished simultaneously.

"Well, no shit, Sherlock!" Richard groaned, annoyed. "What was your first clue!?"

Sonic just scratched his hand with his finger, and then asked, "How did this happen?"

"I think that the big thing that took Eggman was a big part of it." Tails answered.

"It's Time Eater." Richard intoned. "He's a invention of Eggman, I mean Eggmans, including the past and future Eggman. Eggman wasn't really kidnapped, but that thing is due to go berserk sooner or later..."

Suddenly, the Time Eater appears through his portal, whooshing around the place, as everyone ducks down, and it exits through another portal.

"We need to find that thing, and fast!" Sonic exclaimed.

Classic Sonic nodded, and the two of them took off, just before Richard and his younger version follows them.

* * *

A/N: To be honest, I was planning to debut Young Richard later in the arc, but since I have the habit of doing one section at a time, including the Boss, I had to make Richard and Young Richard meet. Anyway, I also shortened the story, by cutting out non-dialogue gameplay, excluding the bosses, or any special events. I might add a few stages of gameplay dialogue if I'm lucky. Also the poll is reopened, as I do wish to get more votes this time around, so please vote in the poll at my profile. Thanks!

Preview of Next Chapter: Another Sonic!? And Another Otherworld Being!?

 _Hello all! It is shocking to find that my younger self have landed in this world, and I think that he's trapped here with us until I clear the world. Crazy, right? Well, he got Sonic's powers, like me, but somehow, I have a sense of worry for him... And that's not the only_ _otherworldly_ _encounter that will happen in this world..._

 **The group of four walk out of the City Escape Zone, having cleared both acts, and returning the zone back to normal.**

 **Rouge, who is beside the sculpture was being unfrozen, and then did a sexy wink at Modern Sonic.**

 **"Thanks, Big Blue! That's the first time I ever got stolen." Rouge drawled.**

 **Modern Sonic just smiled.**

 **"Hold it right there!" A voice like Sonic said.**


	8. Chapter 6: Another Sonic?

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 6: Another Sonic!? And Another Otherworld Being!?

In the Previous Chapter:

 **"Guess you just told me that to make me progress like a *REDACTED*, right?"**

 **"Interesting..."**

 **"RICHARDDDDDDDDDD!"**

 **"Because the "other you" hasn't found this place and cleared it like we did. Only when the two versions of us have each cleared it, that this world will fully restore itself."**

 **"GODDAMNIT!"**

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the two Richards. Panther J owns Antonio the Hedgehog. Everything else is from SEGA.

* * *

While they four heroes went off Richard took a moment to head back, and grab the blue Chaos Emerald that appeared in front of the Richard snuck behind Richard.

"All in a day's work of a hero. Two down, five to go." Richard said, while smiling and pocketing the Emerald

"Is that a Chaos Emerald!?" Younger Richard shouted.

"What in the-" Richard asked, while turning around, seeing Younger Richard, which surprised him, and made him tumble backwards."AH!"

"Can I have the Chaos Emerald pleaseeee?" Younger Richard pleaded with his best impression of puppy eyes.

Richard was disturbed by the look on Younger Richard's face, and reluctantly gave the Chaos Emerald, while sighing. It proved to be his biggest mistake, as what happened later caused to regret it.

"YYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Younger Richard screamed with a voice so loud that everyone including the Sonics that are waiting by Speed Highway Zone, block their ears from the ear-piercing voice, and he then proceeded.

"I got a emerald~! I got a emerald~! I got a-" was all Younger Richard could chime, before Richard clasped a firm hand over his mouth.

"Will you shut it!?" Richard scolded. "I don't want Egg-fucking-man after us if he hears you wailing about having Chaos Emeralds! Do you know the reason why I had to deal with Metal Sonic before!?"

"Mmph! Umph Eumph Munph! Fumph Mmph Rmph!? Amph Dfh Rffth!?" Younger Richard mumbled with the hand over his mouth (Hey! I was just excited in having a Chaos Emerald! Do you know how much power they contain!? And what that do to the Sonics if all 7 of them are collected!?)

"No shit!" Richard retorted, understanding what Younger Richard was saying. "That's exactly why you need to shut it big-time before he finds out!"

Richard then proceeded to get his hand off Younger Richard's mouth, while Younger Richard just rubbed his mouth to comfort it.

"Sheesh..." Younger Richard muttered. "Take a chill pill, will ya?"

The two of them went back to the Sonics who were waiting by the statue of Speed Highway Zone.

"See you outside!" Richard cheerfully exclaimed, before he went in with Modern Sonic.

Classic Sonic just simply looked at Younger Richard with eagerness, and had a pleading face on.

"Aw..." Younger Richard drooled with adoration to Classic Sonic's look, and then rubbed him gently on the head. "You're so cute~"

Classic Sonic clearly liked how Younger Richard was petting him, so he just smiled, and rushed into the sculpture with Younger Richard.

* * *

 **Speed Highway Zone Act 2 (Modern)**

 _Current Music: Speed Highway Modern (Sonic Generations)_

Richard and Sonic were preparing to run down the first slope to begin this chaotic highway of speed.

"Well..." Richard said while stretching his body with various stretches and gazing upon the road in front of them. "This SURE is going to fast as hell... Like a roller-coaster!"

"Kid..." Sonic sighed. "This is not a roller-coaster at all."

"Hey!" Richard exclaimed, while turning to Sonic with a annoyed look. "It was a metaphor! And I'm 16, for god's sake!"

"You humans sure are weird..." Sonic muttered.

Richard's expression softened for a bit, and he stopped stretching.

"Time to go!" Richard chimed, before running down the ramp.

"Alright!" Sonic added, before following Richard.

The two of them ran down the ramp at high speeds, before going through a loop-de-loop, something that Richard detests, but had to go through as he went through the stages.

"Sonic!" Richard shouted, which the voice was muffled due to the wind blazing around them. "I dare you to get more rings than me!"

"Sure thing, pal!" Sonic replied. "Don't go crying if you lose."

"We'll see!" Richard yelled back, while smirking.

The two of them then ran across a skyscraper as blue and yellow streaks, cracking the window glass under their feet, but they are too fast to fall into it, and even dodged the mines placed in front of them. They soon get back on the concrete highway, and soon bump into a crane, which rotated to bring them up to continue their rush down the highway. After running a while, they jump off a ramp, where they performed various tricks, with Richard doing a star jump formation ,before shifting to a cannonball position, and finishing off with a landing position to continue the run, and they went into a skyscraper, and smashed through a wall, before falling down to the bottom, with Richard collecting the 10 rings put under a Badnik, which he Homing-attacked, with him flying towards the enemy and slashing with Heaven's will.

"You going to lose~" Richard teased, while pocketing the 10 rings.

"Just you wait!" Sonic angrily replied.

They proceeded to do a Lightspeed Dash on the line of Rings in front of them, leading them across a gap between the buildings, and head down one floor thanks to the crane at the end of the hallway. They took a sharp right turn, and crashed through the window and went across a glass passage before landing into a construction site, which they traversed up to the top, where they passed a Jump Ring, and they performed various tricks through the air, before using Lightspeed Dash on the rings to get them across to another jump, where they jumped right off the building into the great open air, before both of them grabbed a helicopter by the rails, and landed on a heli pad, and collecting the 10 rings placed there, and ran through the path right until they reached the top of the skyscraper, and they boosted right down the side of the skyscraper, with futuristic police drones drowning the serene atmosphere with their sirens and pursuing them

Richard began to feel nauseous from running at a almost super-sonic speed, and was about to vomit, but he clasped his right hand to his mouth to hold it back, and clenched his stomach. The two of them went right through the glass ceiling of a building that was connected to the skyscraper, and they weaved through the pilliars, although Sonic slammed harshly into one of them, causing some of his collected Rings to drop, but Richard managed to use his reflexes to avoid getting squished onto those pillars. They landed on the floor unscathed from the fall, unlike the drones that continued flying down until they all crashed onto the floor and exploded in a series of small explosions.

They ran back onto the concrete highway, even doing a U-turn to the right, where Sonic was in his spin-form and was veering right leaving sparks along the road, and Richard did the same, except he shifted his feet like he was grinding a rail, leaving the same sparks along his path. They boosted across a section of the highway, before falling into the platforms under it, and proceeded their way across the moving platforms, and jumped to the top, where they went through a Boost Ring, which led them across a section of the highway, before a Jump Pad pushed them to the air again, this time, a missile appeared, and Sonic and Richard grabbed onto the rungs placed on it. The missile crashed through another skyscraper, before exploding and sending the two of them down back to the highway, where they proceeded to drift through many turns on a section of the highway, even passing by a green car on the way. They then ran onto a skyscraper, and ran across to the right on the windows, where they reached a series of rooftop, jumping across them and attacking the police drones patrolling on top, and grabbing onto a pulley that pulled them up to the road, and they ran through it, and were sent to another section by a Jump pad, and they proceeded to do another 360 spiral before reaching the Goal Ring.

By then, Richard was sweating profusely, but he didn't fall down from being fatigued. Instead, he just grabbed the rings he got, and dumped them onto the road, making a chorus of klunks and klings from the rings resounding on the ground, leaving a large pile. Sonic took a good look at the pile, and his eyes suddenly widened in awe...

"That's 120 rings off my bat. Yours, Sonic?" Richard asked, wearing a sly grin, knowing that he won.

Sonic proceeded to dump his rings out, and they left a slightly smaller pile. Richard simply counted silently, and then gave Sonic a pat on the back.

"Never thought that you would got 115 rings. That cut it close, but looks like I win this round, bud!" Richard boasted.

Sonic deflated when he lost to some human, but then he proceeded to put his right hand out, covered by his trademark white glove. Richard took the hand eagerly, and gently shaked it, showing sportmanship.

"Come on. Let's head back. Cream's waiting for us." Richard stated.

"How do you know Cream?" Sonic asked, suspicious about the last sentence.

"I have my ways. I'll tell you in the future." Richard replied, and then shrugging, and heading through the portal.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

When the two of them returned to the White Space, Richard saw Younger Richard sitting on the rails of the sculpture.

"What's up, future me?" Younger Richard said, getting off and walking to Richard.

"Nothing much. Just conquered being scared of being upside-down. You?" Richard replied calmly.

"Just felt like that I can jump few metres higher than before." Younger Richard admitted.

"Such is the power of fate... It gave us abilities to make us as strong as Sonic himself..." Richard muttered.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Classic Sonic watched as Cream and her Chao, Cheese, restore back to life. Cream ten looked aroung, before jumping in joy in bring rescued, with Cheese showing a excited face, before the two of them high-fived each other, and then noticed the two Sonics.

"Oh my... Why are there two Mr Sonics?" Cream asked, frightened at what she was seeing, with Cheese also feeling the same way.

Classic Sonic just frowned, and Modern Sonic explained the situation to her word-by-word.

"Oh!" Cream exclaimed. "So Mr Sonic has been like this in the past, and he came here along with the older Mr Sonic."

"What's going on here? Richard asked coming over to Modern Sonic's side.

"EEK!" Cream screamed in fear, before quivering. "Scary man!"

Cheese was shocked for a moment, before he hid behind Cream's ears, peeking out of it with a worried face before quickly hiding back behind Cream.

"It's okay. I'm a good man. I'm not that scary if you know me for enough time. I'm Richard." Richard replied, while doing the "I'll back off" sign.

"Really?" Cream asked, before deflating. "I'm sorry. It's just that there are so many scary men out there, including that big bad purple monster. I'm Cream the Rabbit."

Richard just crouched down, and gently hugged the young rabbit.

"Don't worry. I'll help you and Mr Sonic get out of here." Richard assured Cream.

Cream was surprised by the hug, and returned with kindness. Cheese just watched them, and then smiled at how his owner got one more friend.

"Thank you. I'm sure that you'll be a good friend." Cream replied.

The two of them seperated, and both Sonics, including Younger Richard who just arrived to the scene in time to see them hug, were trying to process what happened.

"Uh, what the he-" Younger Richard tried to say, before Richard covered his mouth, to stop the sentence.

"Don't say the forbidden words, or she'll hate both you and me." Richard sternly hissed.

Younger Richard just nodded quickly with a fearful expression, and Richard withdrew his hand.

"Huuhhhhhhhhhhhhh?" Cream squealed in surprise. "Why are there are now two Mr Richards?"

"Oh right!" Younger Richard said, before positioning his right hand to cup his chin with the thumb and right finger, and smiling handsomely. "I'm the devilishly handsome Richard Liu."

"Basically, he's me when I was younger." Richard added.

Younger Richard flushed red, and then turned his head to Richard, giving him a very hateful glare.

"Why can't you shut it!?" Younger Richard yelled. "I'm trying to look nice to my favourite female Sonic character!"

"I just did." Richard, crossing his arms in annoyance. "And you're ruining the image that I set for her. Oh, and you're scaring her with that look."

"Grughmmhmmghhhh..." Younger Richard grumbled, before turning around to walk away from the group, with Richard watching his younger self leave with pity.

When Younger Richard was far enough, Richard turned to Cream.

"Sorry. When I was this young, I thought this would've gotten me friendship. I used to be like this." Richard apologized.

"It's okay." Cream replied. "I kinda liked how he looked."

"Hey Richard, aren't you forgetting something?" Sonic said, tapping Richard's right shoulder.

"Oh!" Richard said, while pounding his right hand, scrunched into a fist, into his left hand, which he put out, representing "Just remembered" sign. "Sorry Cream, but Both Mr Sonics and both mes have to go. See ya!"

The group of four ran off, with Younger Richard still muttering hateful words under his breath, although they don't consist of any swears.

"Bye Mr Richard and Mr Sonic!" Cream cheerfully shouted, waving goodbye, with Cheese doing the right thing.

* * *

The four of them came to the sculpture of City Escape Zone, where a discoloured Rouge was shielding from something, with her arms forming a L shape. Modern Sonic just examined her, while Richard looks with comtempt.

"City Escape Zone..." Richard muttered. "The only level in Sonic Adventure 2 that I enjoyed. Looks like I'm the better one for this area."

"Come again?" Modern Sonic asked, hearing Richard, and turning around to look at him.

"Definitely will do better at you in this area." Richard boasted with a sly grin.

"You sure are cocky, kid." Sonic replied, smiling at how Richard is being quite a rival to him, although the two of them are helping each other.

"Likewise." Richard retorted about 1/10 of a second after Sonic finished his reply.

The two of them ran up the road of the sculpture and disappeared through the purple portal. Classic Sonic and Younger Richard simply just watched them go, and both of them shrugged simultaneously, as if they don't care.

* * *

 **City Escape Zone Act 2 (Modern)**

 _Current Music: City Escape Modern (Sonic Generations)_

Both heroes appear midair in the blue sky, and land perfectly on their slide-boards, causing them to begin their journey down the sloping streets. Sonic's board had a picture of his face, excluding the head, surrounded by a black background,= on top of the board, and is fully white of the other side. Richard's board had golden Kindgom-Heart style Chi letters around the border with a metalic silver background on the top of the board, and the other side was fully grey. However, both boards were letting out golden sparks due to the speed they are going at.

The two of them went down the first section of this zone, and even did a few tricks mid-air thanks to the ramps that were in their way. They did many moves, including but not limiting, a 360 degree spin, a invert, a double forward-flip, and something that Richard did to outdo Sonic, a Superman that was held until just a millisecond before they landed.

"Whoo!" Richard huffed. "Talk about a close call. I would've turned into mince meat if I didn't right myself at that instant."

"Kid..." Sonic muttered, while having a anime sweatdrop on his face. "You are seriously lucky as damn."

The two of them took a right sharp turn, and they went through some G.U.N mechs which were standing in front of a blockade of cars. The two of them just looked at each other and grinned, as they both leaned forward, and gained more speed, crashing into the mechs and the blockade so hard that everything flew away, with the mechs blowing up mid-air, except the two of them, who were still sliding down. The two of them then proceeded to go off a ramp connected by a metal bridge, which sent them high in the air, where a steel cable was, and the two of them landed on the cable, and perfectly rode it down through the short-cut, which led them off the road where a athletics track was, where Richard used the moment to show more moves, before they landed, and then were boosted off a building, falling about 20 metres, causing Richard to buckle heavily on his knees when he landed, before going off the edge again, this time a smaller fall, and therefore didn't result in a painful landing with Richard. They then went down the street and crashed into a tram, where Sonic just jumped over, but Richard crashed into it and lost his board as he flew through the tram, crashing right through the front window, and was doing the Halo fall, and Sonic did a few somersaults while spinning and landed flawlessly, while Richard fell face-first with a sickening thud. Richard slowly got up, and rubbed his nose, which was red, but miraculously not bleeding considering the force of the impact.

"Now do you take back what you said before!?" Richard hissed from the pain.

Sonic felt guilty for what he said earlier, but said nothing. The two of them proceeded their way through the stage, going through a brick half-pipe tunnel which led them to run down the side of a buildin, back onto the street road, and they went up a ramp, and latched onto a pole, and both of them leaped off it, and did Light Speed Dash to head for the higher ground, where the top of the loop-de-loop was a cache of rings. They traversed though a block of building with moving platforms and pillars, and even went through some rails. After they went through the gates, and shot off another ramp, the two of them loooked back, and to their horror, a huge truck was coming right at them, plowing over cars that exploded on contant, and jumping over the ramp, landing right behind them.

"Leg it, buddy!" Sonic shouted. "That truck ain't messing with us!"

"You don't say!" Richard replied.

They ran faster, but the GUN truck was still following them. They went through many streets, and even veering off-course onto some platforms, before they went off another ramp and the truck still behind them. They ran up a metal ramp which led them onto the side of a building, where the GUN truck fired up its rocket engines, and attached itself to the side as well, and the chase continued before the two of them ran through a very narrow gap between he building and another building, where Richard's hair scraped against the other building and caught partially on fire. The truck, however, crashed right into the building and exploded. They landed in a roundabout, where the Goal was. Richard was busy trying to do the roll to get the flames off, and it was not long before it succeeded.

"Man, guess you win this one, Sonic." Richard said, while rubbing his head, which still had most of his hair, save for a few parts being shorter.

"You seemed close as well." Sonic replied, being honourable.

"Thanks!" Richard responded.

The two of them went through the portal back to White Zone.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

The group of four walk out of the City Escape Zone, having cleared both acts, and returning the zone back to normal.

Rouge, who is beside the sculpture was being unfrozen, and then did a sexy wink at Modern Sonic.

"Thanks, Big Blue! That's the first time I ever got stolen. Speaking of which, why are there someone that looks like you beside you?" Rouge drawled.

Modern Sonic just smiled.

"He's basically a younger me, Rouge. No need to lose your head over it." Sonic replied.

"Hold it right there!" A voice like Sonic said.

The two Richards then turned around to the source of the voice, which was surprisingly the Adventures Sonic.

"Another me? Was this to be expected, Richard?" Modern Sonic asked.

Richard was gaping at Adventures Sonic, as the game only mentioned only the Classic and Modern Sonic, not a third Sonic, the Adventures version.

"I... This isn't what's supposed to happen!" Richard replied annoyed. "How come there's... another Sonic!?"

"Hellooooo?" Adventures Sonic said, annoyed at being ignored. "Can someone explain what is happening around here? And why is there two people that are dressed like me?"

"Hey!" Modern Sonic exclaimed. "I assure you, you're the fake!"

"What!?" Adventures Sonic cried. "You call me a fake!? Why you!"

The two Sonics began to point fingers at each other, and began to insult each other, with shouts of "Imposter!", "Long-quills!", "Bluey!" and etc being shouted. Unfortunately, Richard was getting annoyed by this and was gritting his teeth in frustration and covering his ears, until he could take it no longer.

"ALRIGHT! ENOUGH!" Richard roared with pure anger. "WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP!? YOU BOTH ARE THE SAME PERSON FROM DIFFERENT TIMES! NOW STOP FUCKING BICKERING ABOUT WHO'S REAL AND FAKE!"

The two sonic winced at Richard's short but loud rant, and immediately looked at him. Richard was huffing with anger, but he eventually calmed down, and his breathing became calmer.

"I'm sorry for that..." Richard apologized. "But you two should know better than to bicker at a time like this. The more time we waste, the less time we have to save your friends."

"No probs, Richard, but wow..." Modern Sonic gaped. "You seriously must have a lot of pent-up rage."

"Your friend here must have anger problems." Adventures Sonic quipped.

"Alright, to avoid mistaking you two, I'll call you Adventures Sonic..." Richard said, pointing to Adventures Sonic, then pointing to Modern Sonic. "...And I'll call you Modern Sonic."

"Works fine by me." Modern Sonic replied.

"I don't really care, as long as it's not all that complicated." Adventures Sonic stated.

The three of them, plus a confused Classic Sonic and Younger Richard, with Sonic wondering who the third Sonic is, and Younger Richard also wondering how Adventures Sonic got here as well.

The five of them went to the sculpture of Seaside Hill, where a discoloured Espio stood, standing straight, and Zelda standing regally, even though she was frozen.

"Looks like another of my friends, Sonics." Richard said. "Guess we need to clear this as well. Espio's also here as well, so it's basically a good situation to free both of them."

Modern Sonic looked at Classic Sonic, and they both nodded, before they went in the area, and disappeared.

"Hold on... Where did they go?" Adventures Sonic asked suspiciously.

"In simple context to you, it's a teleporter." Richard said.

"Still, I don't trust this-" Adventures Sonic tried to say, before his right arm was grabbed by Richard, and he dragged him towards the entrance.

"Hey! Let me go now!" Adventures Sonic demanded with annoyance.

"I don't have time to waste with you. We're going whether you like it or not." Richard coldly replied.

The two of them then disappeared, and Younger Richard, watching the whole dilemma, went in as well.

* * *

 **Seaside Hill Zone Act 2 (Modern)**

 _Current Music: Seaside Hill Modern (Sonic Generations)_

Modern Sonic, Adventures Sonic and Richard dropped down onto the ground, and they looked forward to see the Ocean Palace ahead, surrounded by a magnificent blue Ocean.

"What was your deal!?" Adventures Sonic yelled. "You can't force people to do things they hesitate against!"

Richard just ran off, and Modern Sonic went after him, and Adventures Sonic, wanting a answer, ran in pursuit.

The three of them traversed the earth path, and ran through a few boost rings and Jump Pads, which led them closer to the Ocean Palace. Richard just simply smiled at the music in the background. It was not long until they reached a platforming section, where they carefully leaped across platforms. Eventually, they reached the top of the section, where a Cannon sat, and Richard leaped into the Cannon, followed by Modern and Adventure Sonic, and the Cannon rotated towards its target and fired, sending the three heroes onto another path, that led to the Ocean Palace. While they went down the ancient pathway, orcas jumped across the passage from the sea that surrounded the very Palace. They even ran across a ramp which sent them soaring over a small beach island, and put them on a pathway so narrow that the three of them had to run single-file. They proceeded to Homing-attack some Badniks to reach another road.

They reached another temple, where a platforming section was, and they went through to find another cannon, which dropped them into the Ocean Palace. They then went through the earthen road to reach a three-way fork, where there were 2 paths leading to a run across water, signified on the signs by a water symbol and a turtle, and a third leading to racing down a path in a kart, signified by a kart and some race tracks. The three of them veered towards the kart path, and they wound through a large loop before leading to a cannon, which fired them towards a large raceway, and they landed right into three different karts, with the Sonics' karts being red, and Richard's being black. The moment they landed, the karts flew off with speed.

The Sonics didn't fare well on the track, bumping into mines and missing the boost gates marked by Boost Pads, but Richard proved to be experienced, as he rarely missed a gate unless he was at back-breaking speeds and never hit a mine. Eventually, the kart raceway ended with a big red barrier, which the karts crashed into sending the three upwards and out of the karts, landing a pavillion. They went up via a jump pad, and landed onto a rail, and then jumped onto three different rails when the one they rode was ending, and they went off, only to be running along the wall at fast speeds, before they landed into a dark area of the Ocean Palace, which had a lot of platforming to do.

At the end was another Cannon, and they were fired off out of the area and into another pathway, which was quite dangerous considering the spiked stone wheels bouncing along the path. Richard was frightened by this, as he remebered them when he played the game with this stage, Sonic Heroes. The three of them took great care to avoid getting squished or skewered by these monstrosities. They managed to make it to the end of the wheel gauntlet and jumped off a ramp, which led them to a stairway to the Goal Ring. By the time the Goal Ring was reached. Richard was panting like crazy from exhaustion. The Sonics however, aren't even shaken. The three of them went through the portal back to White Space.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

The three walked out of the portal, only to realize that the sculpture has retuned to full colour, and Classic Sonic and Younger Richard were waiting by the side, with a fully coloured Espio and Zelda.

"Thank you, Sonics and friends. But beware, for I have looked into the soul of the enemy and only saw endless darkness."

Classic Sonic looked like he was going to fight when Espio finished talking, but Richard, however was only interested in replying.

"Indeed. A soul like that makes even the most iron-willed ninja lose sanity. It was a true miracle that you remained sane, Espio." Richard replied calmly. "But I'm not normal, as I seen things worser than the soul you saw."

Espio was taken aback by the fact Richard knows his name, and drew shurikens from his hands, and moved into a throwing posture

"How do you know a person like me?" Espio asked with seriousness. "Speak."

Right when Espio drew his shurikens, Zelda pulled out her Light Bow, and pointed a Light Arrow at Espio.

"If you throw these and kill Richard, I'll end you personally." Zelda coldly threatened.

Richard saw the scene, and put his hands up to prove he wasn't a enemy.

"It would be hard to explain how... but I'll simplify things and say that I observed your life from your first battle." Richard replied, not unnerved by the threat in front of him.

"Hnn..." Espio quietly said, before withdrawing his shurikens. "Very well... I'll trust you, but if you dare threaten Sonic, i'll end you personally."

"I have no such intentions. My true intention is to save him." Richard replied.

Zelda also withdrew her bow, and Richard then approached her.

"So, what Espio said was true, Zelda?" Richard asked.

"It is." Zelda responded. "When I was frozen or suspended in a different dimension, I saw that the dark beast that sucked us all in had pure darkness. Darkness that can even rival Ganon's."

"I see." Richard said.

At that moment, a hedgehog that had the same fur colour and eye colour as Sonic, save for his boots being like Classic Sonic, except it is mostly black instead of red, save for the white stripe, and his gloves are in a golden colour. He also bears a sword and a ring on his second finger of his right hand that got Modern Sonic curious, as he feels like he saw and used this sword and ring before in his previous adventures. He calmly walked up to the group.

"Hi, dad!" The unknown hedgehog said, while smiling goofily. "It's great to see you as your younger self, and even younger selfs."

The three Sonics looked at the blue hedgehog like he was crazy. Even Richard was bearing a glare while frowning hard. Younger Richard didn't care and just sat down and watched them.

"Father?" Modern Sonic said with some fear, shivering at the fact that if what the hedgehog said was true, then he's looking at his future child. "I.. I don't get what you mean..."

Richard however, was quite angered at the fact, and very suspicious that this hedgehog is not a good thing, considering he knows what sword he has.

"Spare me your words." Richard said, dripping anger from each word. "Who. Are. You?'

The hedgehog was unfazed by Richard's intense glare, and just began to the same pose Sonic does every time he clears a stage.

"Name's Antonio the Hedgehog. Speed's my game, and Sonic's my father! But you can call me Toni." The hedgehog announced cheerfully, now named Toni.

Without a second to ask another question, Toni managed to draw his blade in time to block a blow from Richard, who is now wearing a furious face, and holding the Heaven's Will sword in his hands.

"Don't you DARE play the oblivious!" Richard hissed with pure rage, pushing the blade down with his might, causing sparks to fly from the clashing blades. "I definitely know what those things are. What I don't get is how you even got Caliburn, and even Shahra! The only thing I can get is that you're no friend. I refuse to die here just because I believe in a liar like you!"

"What the-!?" Toni gasped. "What are you saying!? Sonic is my father. I swear it's true."

"SHUT UP!" Richard roared back, louder than before. "Caliburn does not belong to a imposter like you! Neither does Shahra! Tell me! WHERE. DID. YOU. MANAGE. TO. GET. THESE!"

At that moment, Caliburn awakens, and then is surprised that Toni is using him to block Richard.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Caliburn exclaimed. "Whoever you are, I demand you relinquish your blade, or Sir Toni will smite you with my own hand."

"SILENCE!" Richard shouted. "He's not who you think he is, Caliburn! He's not who you think he is! He isn't Sonic's son! Unless you can prove, no matter how much strength you have, I wills strike this imposter down towards the fiery hells!"

Just then, Shahra comes out of the ring on Toni's hand, and he gasps in horror seeing that Toni is in danger. Unfortunately, Richard saw her, and then his face change into a hurt expression.

"You too!?" Richard cried. "Shahra! You can't possibly be easily swayed, right? Don't tell me that he's really your master!?"

Shahra just bowed her head, and then floated over to Richard, and then latched her right hand onto Richard's forehead.

"What is the meaning of th-!?" Richard tried to say, only to be frozen, and convulsing violently on the spot, before he complete froze again.

In Richard's mind, snippets of Toni's life began to play in his mind.

* * *

 _Memory of Toni (10 years old):_

 _Current: His Theme (Undertale)_

 _Richard saw Toni over a yellow spotlight, sitting on a brown wooden park bench alone, with his head bowed down in sadness. Richard began to feel pity for whoever was on the bench, until various voices began to ring out from a unknown source, each bearing a different tone, representing different people._

 _"He's truly a anomaly in the society of the future..." A gruff male voice._

 _"My god!? Why is there such a person that exists!" A surprised female voice._

 _"Go away! We don't accept freaks like you!" A loud teenage boy voice._

 _Richard heard all these insults, and more began to come, which led to him feeling bad about what he thought of Toni._

 _'...Maybe I was wrong... I shouldn't have tried to attack him. I was so stupid... Aagh..." Richard thought, before begin to cry slowly, and he saw footsteps from someone apporaching. To his surprise, it was a older Sonic, who looked kinder than his younger counterpart, and he had a few wrinkles and his quills were drooping._

 _The older Sonic then sat beside Toni, and then comforted him by rubbing Toni's head gently with his right hand._

 _"Son... There was a time when the whole world hated me..." The older Sonic said, whose voice has began to crack over the years. "I understand that you never wanted these Chaos Powers, but please understand that you are having something that I would never have."_

 _The 10-year old Toni looked at his father with sad eyes._

 _"But I never wanted these powers, dad." He said calmly, despite him being drowned in sadness inside. "Even Uncle Shadow says that I'm a threat to society."_

 _"Shadow only said that, because he was once a ruthless warrior, exterminating all in his way. He taught you, so that you would become someone like me, even with these destructive powers, a great hero."_

 _Toni then began to tear up, before crying into his father's lap._

 _Richard watched the scene quietly, and then, the entire area around him began to fade to white, and he was back in the real world._

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

Modern Sonic was surprised at what he saw, along with Adventures Sonic. Classic Sonic was just scratching his head, wondering what happened. Younger Richard bore no expression, showing neither joy nor sorrow watching the whole situation.

Richard then put a hand up to his face, and felt the tears he cried when he was in the mindscape.

"So it was all real..." Richard whispered to himself.

Toni only watched him, and then put out a hand. Richard saw it, and solemnly shook it, while bearing a grim smile.

"I guess you really said the truth..." Richard said grimly. "...I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I-I just don't want Sonic to die. My name is Richard Zhao, and can you find it in your heart to forgive me for this wicked deed? "

"I do." Toni said, while politely smiling. It's alright. No-one got hurt, so it doesn't really matter."

Toni then opened his arms for a hug, and he was not left hanging as Richard hugged the hedgehog sincerely, while crying softly into his shoulder, and he patted Richard's head to comfort him.

"I'm sorry... I'm so... sorry..." Richard cried, before both of them released.

Suddenly, the two Tails, both Modern and Classic, come rushing over to the group, and Younger Richard gets up so that they can get through.

"So I think we've pieced together more of what's happening and it's not good news, i'm afraid." Modern Tails announced, with some trembling in his voice.

Just a short moment after, the ground shakes, and everyone wobbles on the spot, as the Time Eater once again appears through a purple portal, and runs across them before going through another portal.

"When that thing goes through time, it rips and tears space apart, leaving the places they went empty and dead, which caused them to land in here." Classic Sonic continued.

"But when everyone accelerate through time, time and space for that particular area will be restored, and it will return back to normal, including the characters suspended in a dark limbo, like how your friends returned back to normal after a specific area is cleared." Richard finished.

The two Tails look at him confused.

"You're not the only ones who figured out what is happening around us." Richard said.

"Then I guess we have to run like there's no tomorrow, or there actually will be none!" Modern Sonic said, pounding his fist into his hand in understanding.

"Yes, but we'll need the 7 Chaos Emeralds, if we hope to overpower that beast over there. It's called the Time Eater. It's a term I coined since that beast is munching through space and time like you eating a chilli-dog, Sonic." Richard stated.

Both Adventures Sonic and Modern Sonic blushed at this.

"Hey!" They said simultaneously. "Chilli-dogs are my favourite, so don't go around putting it in embarrassing metaphors."

Richard just shrugged, and then pointed at Modern Sonic, Adventures Sonic and Toni.

"I'll need you three for something. Follow me please." Richard calmly ordered.

The three of them nodded, and then ran off with Richard leading them. They went right to a alcove right above City Escape Zone, where Shadow the Hedgehog was.

"So you finally came, Sonic. And you brought some friends." Shadow stoically said. "I care not where we are or when we are, but this is where I'll finish you. Your friends will be next."

"Uncle Shadow?" Toni asked, hurt that he has to battle his uncle and mentor Shadow.

"I am not your uncle." Shadow coldly replied. "I am the Ultimate Lifeform, and none shall compete for the title."

"We'll see about that, shall we?" Richard boasted, beofre turning to Adventures Sonic and Toni. "Adventures Sonic, and Toni, this is a battle where only Modern Sonic and I can participate. Any more contenders and this portal would go whack. I brought you here, Toni, because I know that you look up to Shadow. But I'm sorry I can't get you to help me set him right. Remember, this isn't the Shadow that taught you. He has whatsoever no memories about you."

"I see..." Toni replied, trying to keep himself together.

Shadow, Richard and Modern Sonic went through the portal, to begin the greatest challenge yet.

* * *

 **A.R.K (Rival Battle)**

 _Current Music:_ _Vs. Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Generations)_

Shadow awaits on top of a electric pipe, waiting for Sonic and Richard, and they arrive, riding along the passage. Shaodw then slides down a rail to them, before the two of them jump of the passage, and Shadow jumps off the rails, and the three of them pose before the moon, with Richard doing a dash posture away from the moon, and Shadow and Sonic cross each other. The three of them land down onto a larger passage, before a purple Power Core floats before them, and the chase for it begins.

"Sonic! That core is something we need to defeat Shadow!" Richard shouted. "I'll find a way to slow him down! You just focus on getting the Power Core!"

Sonic just nodded, and they executed the plan, with Richard running alongside Shadow, and the two of them bump each other in a attempt to shake each other off, while Sonic is slightly ahead. Sometimes, Shadow would try to get to Sonic, but Richard would bump Shadow before he can touch Sonic.

"Get off of me!" Shadow yelled, before boosting into a red stream.

"Sonic!" Richard shouted. "Boost now!"

Sonic took Richard's advice and boosted into a blue streak, and Richard himself also boosted, turning into a yellow wind comet. Sonic took the right side on a fork, and ran through the upper side of the platform before jumping off a ramp and snatching the Core.

"Gotcha!" Sonic exclaimed before landing down, and seeing another Core appear far ahead of them.

"Good one!" Richard said, feeling the power channel towards him and Sonic. "One more, and we'll be able to show Shadow our true power!"

The chase went on, but this time, Richard's boost ran out, and he was left behind as Shadow caught up to Sonic, and they were neck to neck for the Core, until Sonic did a sneaky move by tripping Shadow, which amazingly succeeded, humiliating the Ultimate Lifeform and allowing Sonic to reach the Core.

 _Current Music: Live and Learn (Sonic Adventure 2 Battle)_

The moment Sonic touched the Core, Richard teleported beside Sonic, and they were suspended mid-air, as they began to be enveloped by a purple aura. Shadow got a head-start, but when the duo went back down, they boosted into two separate purple streaks, boosting infinitely. The two of them charged through meteorites and debris, which crashed into Shadow, slowing him down. They constantly barraged Shadow, before they were very close to him, and they got together to form a larger purple streak which constantly burnt Shadow, causing his Rings to fall out bit by bit until Shadow was sent up into the air and fell belly first, and the hero duo charged on its way, and Shadow pounded his fist on the ground. The two of them went through the purple portal ahead of them, which lead to White Space.

"Who's Ultimate now, Shadow!?" Richard taunted just before he went through.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

When they were back, all that was left was a anticipating Toni and Adventures Sonic, and the Yellow Chaos Emerald.

Richard grabbed it, and put it into his pants pocket.

"That's 3!" Richard said. "4 to go!"

Toni, however was saddened by the fact that the Shadow he saw wasn't real.

"He's not real..." Toni moaned in despair.

Richard then put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Cheer up!" Richard said, while showing a toothy smile. "I bet the real Shadow would love to see you!"

Toni instantly cheered up, and smiled back.

The four of them went to the Boss Gate, where Younger Richard and Classic Sonic were waiting."

"This should do the trick..." Richard muttered, pulling out the Boss Keys from his backpack.

Like the last Boss Gate, the keys perfectly went in and turned, causing the gate to rise, leading to the portal.

"It's time to fight another familiar adversary, right?" Modern Sonic asked.

"Indeed." Richard replied. "And this time, you don't need the emeralds for this one."

Adventures Sonic and Modern Sonic looked at each other, confused at the statement Richard gave.

* * *

 **Destroyed City Square (Boss Battle)**

 _Current Music: Perfect Chaos Phase 1/ Open Your Heart (Sonic Generations)_

Modern Sonic, Adventures Sonic, Toni and Richard looked around them only to see broken buildings and skyscrapers around them, with a ocean of water flooding the area. Somehow, Adventures Sonic wore a fearful expression, and so did Toni.

"This place... Don't tell me!?" Adventure Sonic said, frightened at where and when he was.

The ground suddenly shook, and they began to see a humanoid water dragon form with water tentacles.

"Perfect Chaos!" Toni shrieked. "He's even more scary than when the Sonic at my era explained it!"

Richard just let out a "tsk" before the four of them prepared to fight this water monstrosity.

The four of them ran down the broken highway, jumping across section to section through ramps until they reached one of Perfect Chaos's tentacles, and they rushed through it into Perfect Chaos's body, until the boosted causing three streaks of cobalt blue and a streak of yellow to bounce around the body, until they each penetrated the membranous brain of the monster, causing it to roar in pain.

The four of them landed safety at another section of the broken highway. They traversed the area, with the additional attacks of Perfect Chaos trying to crush them under its tentacles. They then reached a deserted skyscraper and traversed to the top where a large ramp was, and they launched off it, where they were right above Perfect Chaos's head, and they Homing-attacked the brain one by one, and it caused another roar of pain from the monster. They landed into a section right in front of Perfect Chaos, and Perfect Chaos began to bombard the road with water balls, causing the area be slightly more dangerous, but they rushed through the section and once again went into the body and Boosted into its brain, causing pain for the monster again.

 _Current Theme: Perfect Chaos Phase 2 (Sonic Generations)_

This time, Perfect Chaos, began to wail loudly, and began to cause pillars of water to hold up parts of the road. The four heroes traversed each platform with great ease, until Richard began to stumble on one of them, and when he jumped, he jumped short of the platform, and was screaming as he was falling, until Modern Sonic grabbed his hand. Richard swayed, and looked at Modern Sonic.

"T-thank you..." Richard stuttered.

"It's no biggie. Just do your best, alright?" Modern Sonic said.

The four of them finally managed to reach the closest platform to Perfect Chaos, and they simultaneously jumped and homing-attacked the brain, causing four streaks of light, three of blue colour, one of yellow colour to pierce through, until it began to explode, and Perfect Chaos did its dying cry, swaying its head side to side, before its head drooped, and it sank back into the water. Richard, Toni and the two Sonics watched the beast fall, and then Adventures Sonic and Toni sighed in relief.

"Guess that kid was right, I didn't need Chaos Emeralds to bring this beast down a second time." Adventures Sonic said.

"So that's how my dad beat him... I'm so glad that I beat him alongside my younger dads and my new friend." Toni sighed in a relieved tone.

Richard just grabbed Toni and gave him a gentle noogie.

"Aw, come on... I don't know you enough..." Richard said. "But I too need friends. Say, I might even add you to my team of dimension-travelling heroes. Would you like to bring more honour to your family by getting a chance to not only save this dimension, but the whole multiverse?"

Toni smiled at his. "Of course I do!" He said.

"Great!" Richard exclaimed happily. "When we get back to the Core, I'll tell you all about the multi-verse, and the wonders it contains!"

The four of them saw the purple portal to White Space open beside them, and they went back in without a single word.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

When the 4 participants of the boss battle returned, they saw that Modern and Classic Tails were waiting for them, and eager to say what's in their mind. Classic Sonic and Younger Richard were just watching them intently.

"You all have brought back a lot of this world!" Classic Tails exclaimed with happiness. "And you all are great whole doing it!"

Suddenly, the ground shakes again, and it took everyone by surprise, even causing Younger Richard to fall on his bottom this time. The Time Eater appeared from its portal behind them, and it went across them, and everyone ducked down, as the Time Eater turned around to attack them, only for a discoloured Chaos Emerald to repel the monster away, which the monster tried to push past, until it gave up and went back through its portal. Younger Richard got up the moment it was gone, and sighed in relief.

Richard saw all this and knew that this was the very moment where he could justify the reason he was collecting all those Chaos Emeralds.

"See? The Time Eater really hates those Chaos Emeralds, and if we collect them, we can use them to not only access our super forms, but also weaken it!" Richard explained.

"So that's why those emeralds are important..." Modern Sonic muttered.

Suddenly, the discoloured emerald turned into its true colour, being the Blue Chaos Emerald, and it came into Richard's hand, and he put it inside his bag.

"One more!" Richard chirped with happiness.

"So where to next?" Toni asked.

"My guess is that we have to go to the next three areas." Younger Richard replied.

"Okay. But what's your name?" Toni asked. "You seem to look almost alike Richard."

Younger Richard just scoffed at this comment. 'What do you think?" He said. "You just said my name."

"What!?" Toni exclaimed, surprised by this revelation. "There's two Richards!?"

"Yep." Younger Richard simply replied. "Don't know what got into my older self's mind when he tried to kill you. Anyway, time to go!"

Younger Richard just simply walked away from the group.

* * *

Preview of Next Chapter: A Modern World Life Is

 _Hi all! It really sucks that I attacked a friend out of pure fear of getting tricked. Well, at least he forgave me for all the crap I gave him. His name is Antonio the Hedgehog, or Toni as he wants us to call him. Right now, its time to do the final set of zones to fix, until we face the big bad himself, Time Eater!_

 **Richard and Toni are running across the desolate city, trying to avoid trying to get squished by the objects that Silver's telekinesis is throwing at them.**

 **"Impressive. It seems that you got the same prowess as Sonic, without his arrogance." Silver remarked.**

 **"And you're quite handy with that telekinesis of yours." Richard responded. "However, I won't lose this battle."**

 **"Yeah! I can't lose to you, Silver!" Toni shouted back to Silver. "I'm just like my father Sonic!"**

 **"Such a reminder for a great hero at a young age..." Silver muttered. "I known Toni to be a great hero to society exactly 170 years ago, but I never thought that I would have to face off him..."**

A/N: To Panther J, I'm sorry I can't do three Tails and Eggmans, but having to juggle between Adventures Sonic, Toni, Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and Richard is already as difficult as it is.

To everyone else, I like to say that I like to show how Richard went through each stage, unlike the last chapter, but I can't do Younger Richard and Classic Sonic, as it would take me ages to write all that. If you really are desperate to know how the Classic Stages goes, looks for walkthroughs of Sonic Generations. Also there is also the problem of trying to keep the personality of the Sonics to their canon versions, but it is hard, so I had to make a few tweaks here and there in their speech.


	9. Christmas Special: Merry Christmas

Multiversal Chaos Christmas Special: Merry Christmas at the Core!

Disclaimer: Everything listed in this chapter, excluding the Core, Richard, The Creator, Mimir, belong to their respective owners.

Crash Valentine and Leona Belmont belong to Deviantart User Crashvalentine

Alex Vaughn, Terrias, Aria and Piermont belong to Fanfiction User Sir Areis Lionheart.

WARNING: The characters listed here are before Volume V of The Legend of The Terminators, but after Volume IV. And this story is currently non-canon, but the only Personas/ True Gods shown here will be only of those who are revealed, to avoid spoilers of the story's future, except for two parts, which I will let you figure out...

Apologies to Sir Areis Lionheart, as this chapter might offend your characters' images. I bear no ill will on them, and any contradictions to their canon personalities are not real, and sincerely wrong.

UPDATE (17/09/17): Note particularly that this is not canon to either canon of the involved stories. This is merely for fun on my part.

* * *

It was a jolly night at the Core, with a sea of starts swirling in the skies above it. The entire area was decorated with balls of light that are closely linked together to create a chain of lights, each in the festive red and green. The entire area was filled with realistic white plastic tables that were draped with the most soft slik cloths that have Christmas trees and golden stars all over them. On top of the tables were foods of everyone's liking, including roast boar for the voracious people, and even some festive foods from Richard's real world, including jugs of eggnog and juice. And in the centre of the place, is a enormous pine tree that is decorate with every decoration ever invented in the history of any dimension, including some plastic models of characters in their chibi forms, and on top of it was a ring of stars that range from the Super Mario Power Star to the Northern Star that once signified Jesus's birth, and the tip held a lone star, which was as large as the ring of the stars, and there is a white Chi symbol carved on both the front and back of the star, and symbols of infinity were carved around the edges of the star.

The guests, however, were something that even the most addicted otaku could not imagine. It wasn't something where there were only a few characters who came to visit. No, this is meager compared to what a person would see. All kinds of characters, ranging from the protagonist of Sword Art Online, Kirito, to the new 7th Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, to the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. There were all kinds of characters that came from cartoons, anime, video games, novels and books, and movies. Gus Campbell, however, was sick that day, and was resting back in the Real World.

But it wasn't all of that. Even some characters that came from alternate dimensions where heroes are made, including Alex Vaughn, the young commander of 21 years old of the legendary Terminatiors. To speak honesty, he wouldn't have come to the Core, considering his last encounter with a nexus to dimensions, if it wasn't for the Creator promised him that she will keep time at his dimension to a utter halt, stopping the nuke on its tracks, just before it would explode, until they return, and reviving a certain servine, and promising him that there will be some-one that will become his long-time ally. Right now, he stands in his army attire, wearing a grim face after all the hell he went through. Piermont, however, was joyous that he finally gets some rest and recreation, not to mention that he gets to celebrate Christmas despite all the things on the other side. He is currently in his human form, wearing a black leather jacket that has "KING" embedded in big white letters across the center of the jacket, and blue jeans to keep a casual appearance. Terrias, who is a mutated anthro servine. He still bears the scar on his right eye from a knife cut, and his tail still carries holes from shots that were too close for comfort. He is wearing the black trench coat that he wears most of his time, and he still carries the sword that he infused his trusty leaf stone that was passed down to him. Aria, his fiancee, being also a servine, was smiling and laying her head on Terria's shoulder. She wears a floral dress with Japanese sakuras being painted all around it, and she is wearing rose high heels, leaving a sense of beauty around her. The four of them were approaching Richard, who was dressed up in a comfortable tuxedo, which had no changes to the ones shown in cartoons, save for the tie being golden instead of red. He also is wearing black pantaloons to match his fancy look, and he also is wearing black leather shoes. He also bears a golden ring on his second finger of his right hand, which is socketed with a round sapphire, which was in a more aquamarine colour than the usual ones, and currently engaged in a conversation with Sans of Undertale, who was especially dressed in a red version of his fur coat, with his shorts being green, exactly showing the festive colours.

"...So how does it feel to be dunked by Chara? I mean, you did your best to stop him, but to be honest, you sometimes can't dodge forever, and that cunt knows how to cheat properly." Richard asked.

" **Meh.** " Sans replied in a mature tone, while shrugging. " **I don't care really. Besides, you got the all-powerful Creator to stop him, right? Besides, I was only toying with him using these attacks. Never thought fighting that long wears a skeleton like me down.** "

"Well... Sometimes, you got to _sternum_ up a bit more!" Richard said while smirking, before bursting into laughter while ribbing Sans in the... well, ribs. "Right? Right?"

Sans just simply looked at Richard, and patted him in the back.

" **Kid. It was good use of a bone name as a pun.** " Sans comforted. " **But that joke almost made me frown hard, so did your ribbing, and you wouldn't want to see my smile drop upside-down."**

Richard just drooped and sighed.

"Well, it was worth a try, right?" Richard asked.

" **It was.** " Sans replied a bit more lightly, before turning around to leave. " **Just make sure you got something better, that wouldn't cause my smile to drop.** "

"Will do!" Richard chirped with his confidence back. "See ya later!"

Richard waved back at Sans, until he felt a light tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see Alex, Terrias, Aria and Piermont.

"Are you Richard Liu, the one hosting this party?" Alex asked sternly, emanating a sense of rigid fear amongst the people around them.

Richard, however, was used to this kind of feeling and just stared intently in Alex's eyes with a stoic expression, refusing to break eye contact with him, as it would diminish his respect for him.

"I am." Richard replied in a polite and calm tone. "You're Alex Vaughn, I presume?"

Alex was almost taken aback by the fact that Richard knows his name, despite them meeting for the first time, but got his wits back together. _This kid might be someone that watches over our universe._ Alex thought.

"Indeed." Alex complimented. "What a cheerful party you have on your stead."

"Yeah..." Richard said, before looking at the people around before resting his eyes again on Alex. "Let's sit down first. And your comrades or brothers in arms can come alongside you. I don't want them to think that i'm suspicious around you."

"Please. You are harmless anyway, without any intnet of hurting us." Alex sincerely assured.

The five of them went to a area closer to the outer edge of the Core, finding a quiet corner, where there were five white sofas, which each person sat into.

"Tell me, Richard." Alex asked. "How was it possible that you know my name? Is it that you watched us before?"

"In a way, yes." Richard replied. "But I didn't watched you, I read your adventures. And that's how I came to know about your existence."

Alex was worried by this point. _This child could be dangerous if he knows almost everything about me..._ He thought. "How much do you know?" He asked.

"Only as much as you will allow." Richard replied, as if sensing the worry inside him.

"Tell us everything." Alex demanded.

So Richard did. He told Alex about his first years in war as a soldier in Plastro's army, and then the many things he have done ever since then. He even spoke about how Terrias exacted revenge on his abusive owner, and how he died due to septic wounds, and was condemned to the Devil's Arena, where Alex entered to help him, and finally escaped alongside him. He then told Piermont about the many deaths that The Terminators suffered, and how his heart cried about them, and how some were revived, which gave him hope for the faction. He then proceeded to lash his hatred on his words about the Terminators' many enemies, with Richard raging on every word, and even slamming holes into the pristine sofa with his fists due to the unholy rage he was pouring out. He told them about how the enemies caused suffering for all, and how a certain dictator, Barry Mabao, nuked his own city to ensure his army lives and the Terminators die. As the narrative of their adventures were spoken from Richard's mouth, the fellow Terminators took more and more interest in it, until Richard finished, where they were all gaping at Richard with their eyes widened to unbelievable points, and Piermont accidentally releasing some of his human magic, causing his emerald wings to sprout out of his back, and flitter above him.

"That's all." Richard said, before slumping down. "What a mouthful to say, and I think it took me hours to say all this..."

"I can't believe it..." Alex mumbled with utter surprise. "You knew all this... from a online journal recording all this!?"

"Holy Arceus...I never said this phrase before, even though I knew it, but this... This is the only phrase that I can say, otherwise I would be silent with my mouth gaping like a idiot..." Terrias said.

"This... THIS ISN'T RIGHT!" Piermont ranted, with his voice slightly being layered, with his human and gruff dragon voice overlapping each other. "Do you mean to say that our whole life, including the classified moments, were all written in a MERE STORY!?"

"I'm... afraid so..." Richard replied without fear, but with disappointment.

"NO! NOOOO!" Piermont roared, before he left the chair and turned into his full Martinean dragon form, and taking to the skies, and firing in fury fireball after fireball across the skies.

"I never said that the truth would be soft..." Richard argued. "Soldiers like you should know that. It's true, but your lives are still your own. In fact, you're the one controlling the story, Alex Vaughn. The story only moves because of you and your friends. That's because you're the incarnation of the Archangel Vitam of your world."

"Wait, "our" world?" Alex asked, confused.

"You should know better. You been to a Nexus before, haven't you?" Richard scolded, despite knowing that Alex is older and theoretically wiser. "That Evil Twilight situation was basically called a cross-over, where two universes collide, and the elements of both universes appear in either one or both of them. The situation was of the former. Although I apologize about the Archangel part. It was just something I blurted as a nickname for you."

"Right..." Alex mumbled.

"Oh dear..." Aria said, while holding her hand up to her mouth, and was on the verge of tears. "Why has this got to happen?"

"It's worse." Richard said.

"WHAT!?" Alex, Terrias and Aria shouted simultaneously in outrage.

Richard just simply bore a angered expression and began to talk about HIS situation.

"Right now, there is something called the Darkness. Maxia?" Richard said in a very hard tone. "Something that it uses to tickle itself. The Darkness is something that no-one can comprehend, not even the Creator. Right now, it is consuming universe after universe, although it's not severe. But however, it is growing stronger this second, so I'll need all the help I can get. Right now, the Creator is all by herself, excluding the fact that I'm helping her. I haven't went to any universes yet, but I can say that it's fucking strong as the entire multi-verse if she's using virtually all her power to hold it back. I plan on getting good allies, and you all are soldiers who have fought through situations like this. You can decline my offer for alliance, but we must eventually assist each other, or this multi-verse is FUCKING KAPUT!"

Alex was stoic even after Richard finished talking, and began to reply.

"I understand your situation, but I cannot assist your team now. Right now, we have got to solve our dimensional problems before we can help you." Alex said.

Richard softened his expression upon hearing this.

"I understand. I just hope that you can hold on to your universe until you finally win one over these bastards. I'll be able to help you if you somehow land into whatever universe that I am in, or you find a way to come here by your own accord. Either way, it would be a pleasure to ally yourself with me. Can we at least be acquaintances? We got a raging dragon to calm." Richard offered, while putting out a hand to shake.

Alex didn't take a moment, and gripped the hand firmly, and smiled grimly, which Richard returned with a warm smile.

"Then it would a pleasure to be your friend, Richard. I wish to see in your future your abilities." Alex complimented.

"Oh, you don't need to wait for my abilities to grow, I already got some. Watch." Richard boasted, before he raised his right hand, and a pilliar of water began to surround him, before his attire turned into a white mage robe, with no alterations, and his hair and eyes turned light blue. He was now in his Mimir Fusion form.

"Like it? I fused with a Persona." Richard gloated, while smiling dazzlingly.

"It looks nice, but have you got the skill?" Alex asked, not attracted by the new attire.

Richard just simply mouthed something, and he flew off at a fast speed, and landed on the back of Piermont. The dragon wasn't very welcoming of Richard, and tried to shake him off by wriggling his body, but Richard held on, and struck several points on his body with a quick finger, and the dragon began to lose conscinousness, and began to fall, and Richard incanted in a ancient language, causing a magic circle to appear, and he tapped certain spots, and Piermont turned back into his human form, and Richard held him in his arms, before he descended back where the group is, and surprisingly, no-one at the Core was disturbed from their party.

"Here you go, a Piermont out cold, just like you ordered, Commander. Impressed yet?" Richard informed.

Alex just smiled at this, and pointed at Piermont.

"And he's human again. A good extra should go with this, if I was paying you." Alex commented.

"Just call it a favour, which you'll soon repay later." Richard assured. "Let's head back and see if the other set of guests I invited from another special dimension."

The four of them, with Richard still carrying Piermont like a cradled baby, returned to where the party is and they came upon a anthro Snivy and Typhlosion, both of them looking at a age of a young adult if not younger. The Typhlosion had his hair shaped into a identical haircut of Dante from Devil May Cry, and wore a jacket on his upper half, leaving his lower half of his torso bare, with a crackling cape of fire that is half blue and half orange with the orange being the outer part of the cape. He also wears black leather gauntlets, and wears black fancy jeans, which have stripes of colour running down his legs down to knee, with the one on the right leg being blue and the other being green, and the area where the knee is seperated by a small zipper, which went around the leg, making it jeans that can be converted into shorts, and he wears grey runners, which have outlines simillar to the pants, with the left being light blue and the other being light green.

The Snivy had green hair that matched Lars from Tekken, and she was wearing a headset in which the speakers had the pokeball symbols on them, and she was wearing grey bras that covered most of her breasts, and wearing grey army shorts tied with a casual belts and wearing dark blue boots with the sole being light blue.

When the four of them walked up to them, the anthro Typhlosion was enjoying a swig of fruit punch, while the anthro Snivy was enjoying a glass of apple juice.

Richard came up to them, and the two of them turned to Richard.

"Hey. What's up?" The Anthro Typhlosion asked Richard in a energetic teen-like voice, which almost sounds like Dante.

"Nothing much. I like to meet you." Richard replied, with a confident tone and a caring smile on his face, while giving the unconscious Piermont to Alex to carry. "I heard you're a really good fighter and warrior, so it would be best that we become friends."

"Heh heh..." The Typhlosion blurted while blushing, and rubbing his head sincerely. "You seem to be good. I saw you in the skies trying to calm that dragon."

Richard was taken aback by this, as no-one else was disturbed by this and then righted himself, and coughing mildly into his hand, and then reverting himself back to normal, with the clothes disappearing in particles of light, before his original tuxedo reappeared in a instant after.

"Yeah." Richard said, taking a calm manner of speech, and then put out his open hand out to the Typhlosion" I'm Richard Liu, by the way. It would be a pleasure to become a friend, or at least a friendly acquaintance."

The Typhlosion just took the hand the moment Richard finished speaking, and grabbed it a rushed manner, slightly startling Richard, and then shook it vigourously.

"Name's Crash Valentine." The Typhlosion said, then pointing to the anthro female snivy. "My friend here, is Leona Belmont. She's techinically half a B.O.W..."

The now-named Leona frowned at this, and gave him a hard glare, as if it was a secret she was hiding. Crash however noticed this, when he tilted his head to the right, and then looked back at Richard.

"...And she's got a spicy attitude, as matched by her love of all things spicy in flavour, and it was be RAGING if you try to piss her off." Crash concluded, emphasizing on the word "raging". Richard just simply smirked at this, since he knew the two of them before he became a hero, and then proceeded to come over to where Leona is, and then gave her a stern look, as if to prove to her that she is serious business.

"Well, I do have a interest in mutants..." Richard said in a impressed and curious tone, eyeing the Terminators behind him, before returning his gaze at Leona. ""But I can tell that you definitely are a good woman, being morally just and having the skills and personality to back your friends."

"Thank you." Leona replied in a grateful manner, with a voice of a mature woman.

Richard then turned back to talk to Crash, and saw that he was waiting patiently.

"Oh." Richard uttered in surprise. "Seems you were waiting for me?"

"I find this place quite boring. Is there anything we can do?" Crash asked in a bored tone, losing some of the energetic tone in his voice.

"Hmm..." Richard muttered, while looking around the area.

Richard saw that Luffy and Majin Buu were trying to out-eat each other, each gulping down plate after plate of roast meat in supersonic speeds, causing surprise amongst the crowd spectating, even causing the younger shapeshifter Oolong to literally drop his jaw to the ground. Then there was Rias Gremory engaged in a slap-fight with Nami of One Piece, and Zoro and Issei were engaging in a fight, with them both being equally matched, and the nearby area being evacuated. That was the very thing that struck a idea up in his mind, but then he saw Terrias was looking intently at Leona, with Aria being beside him, and they seemed to be striking up a conversation with each other. He decided to try and listen in the conversation, since he got better hearing than a normal human.

"...So it seems that you say that you were killed by a Arcanine that also killed your parents, and resurrected as a mutant by some science facility, which only planned your resurrection to the society?" Terrias questioned in a solemn tone.

Leona just bobbed her head down at this, and fought back tears as she replied in a depressed yet almost emotionless tone, "Yes."

"Tch... I never died, but I did suffer in the hands of cruel humans, and they made me watch my parents die brutally in front of me, and I was beaten to a point where I looked like someone dead. I'm sorry I had to pry into such sad matters." Terrias comforted in a sincere tone.

"It's fine. But what you said about humans isn't all true, some humans do actually care for us people." Leona responded to Terrias.

"Yeah... To be honest, out of all the humans in the world, the group of people I least hate is the entire army of Terminators and Alpha Company. Our young leader, Alex Vaughn the Great, pardon the pun, lead us, and cared for us like we were brothers in arms. I accidentally mutated back when I was a Snivy, and I evolved when I killed the bastard who killed my parents. Right now, I have as much remorse about killing those who should die, but I still car for those who are innocent. At our side, the war caused hell on us. In fact, I died once, and was dragged in Hell, where I was forced to fight in a arena where I had to kill countless demons for Lucifer's entertainment, and Alex came through a portal to fight alongside us. Sure, it was fun marauding beasts and demons there, but we eventually had to ditch it thanks to the bastard turning the two of us against each other, and we did escape. Ever since then, I decided to become Alex's protege and one of his best friends." Terrias explained to Leona, not stopping until he finished talking.

"So you did die." Leona replied. "That makes us similar on one aspect."

"Yeah... If there was someone I would marry, should my dear Aria become killed thanks to the damn Maxia, I would choose you. We're of the same line of species, so we would be almost a perfect match if you were to evolve..." Terrias admitted.

Just then, the air around them began to grow cold, that even Richard shivered, even though he was quite far apart from them, and he saw that both Aria and Leona were bearing pissed expressions with their eye literally all white, and both of them were clenching their fists.

"I swear, if you even dare to cheat on that girl as long as I live..." Arias hissed through clenched teeth. "I'll personally pound you myself, and send you back to the Devil's Arena."

"And you got a problem with Snivys!?" Leona blustered. "Last I checked, some of us LIKE to stay as Snivys. Including me, even being in this form makes me feel like that I'm a stronger woman that is revered by skill, not boobs and sexuality."

Terrias immediately backed a few steps.

"Uh..." Terrias fumbled, now for the first time in so long, being so afraid of the aura that the two girls were protuding. "I-I didn't mean to try to insult Snivys, and Aria dear, I would never try to betray your love. Just please... calm down?..."

That sentence did nothing to soothe the hate in both of them, and they proceeded to do a beatdown on Terrias, but Richard just came in time to intervene before the servine was going to get bruise all over.

"Hey!" Richard exclaimed. "If you really plan on having a fight, I already just thought of a way to prove the skills amongst each other."

The two of them suddenly calm down, and the metaphorical air returned back to normal.

"Really? A fight?" Leona asked in a suspicious manner. "Wouldn't someone get hurt?"

"Not really." Richard replied. "I can create a zone where we can have fights just like the ones that happen in any fighting games, and the damage and pain will all be virtual and will disappear after the battle ends. And we can recreate all kinds of scenes from battles, so we can make a fight quite nostalgic."

Crash listened to Richard, and took great interest in his words, and came to Richard's side, and Richard turned to face him.

"Well, I for one haven't fought a good battle for ages. I like to see if there is someone worthy of become my rival." Crash admitted. "Would you like a fight? But you better not cry if I beat your ass too hard."

Richard just laughed heartily at this, and gave Crash a arrogant smirk.

"I like to see if you are capable of doing this, Crash-boy." Richard arrogantly teased, before he turned around. "Come on! Let's spread the news that there's going to be a mock spar between the two of us."

The two of them walked towards the main area of the Core, and the Terminators and Leona followed close behind. , which is right in the front of the centre, where a wooden podium was placed in front of the enormous Christmas Tree.

Richard then walked up the podium along with Crash, and the other people in the group went into the crowd where many characters remained, and where a lot of chatter was flowing amongst them. Richard then tapped the microphone firmly, causing some booms which attracted the crowd's attention, and the chatter stopped instantly.

"Excuse me everyone, but I like to interrupt this party, as I have been given a challenge to a fight." Richard declared calmly. "Since I might ass well show everyone my potential as a saviour, I would like to see if there are any challengers."

There was silence amongst the crowd, until the Creator appeared in a beam of light, smiling politely, and she was dressed differently, as her staff's head was now a golden shining star with a rainbow light surrounding it, and she is wearing plush reindeer antlers on her head, and her cloth is now a series of red and green stripes that cover the cloth in a pattern, and she is wearing glass high heels which have the symbol of Christmas on the tip of the heel.

Richard turned around to her, and bowed to her, and Crash was confused and looked at her in a curious manner.

"That is kind of you, Richard." The Creator declared. "I have heard your requests with Crash, and I agree to let you two to show your worth in battle."

"Thank you, O Creator." Richard gratefully thanked.

"Uh... Thank you?" Crash said, confused.

"If you're worried about why I was called the Creator, it's because I am the Creator of this whole multi-verse, and i kept it a secret, until now." The Creator assured Crash.

At that moment, the sound of thousands kneeling in respect was heard.

"But there will be a change, since I sense that a certain Leona Belmont wants to fight as well, so it would be fair to turn this into a tag team match. It shall be me and Richard versus the duo Crash Valentine and Leona Belmont." The Creator announced.

Richard was surprised at this, and whirled around and looked at the Creator with utter surprise.

"I-I.. don't know what to say..." Richard stuttered. "Isn't your powers going to overwhelm them? And the Darkness..."

"Worry not, Richard. I have the power to restrain my powers to a fair level, and the Darkness have been inactive for a long time, so when I heard you talking about fighting, I decided to join to prove my power as well to others." The Creator explained.

"I see..." Richard replied.

The Creator then raised her hands in the air, and a large red square outline appeared upon the crowd.

"I like to ask for those inside the outline to move, as I will summon the battlefield there." The Creator said.

The crowd moved out of the area in a orderly fashion, and when the area was absolutely clear, the Creator just flicker her arms down, and in a instant, a square arena that has steps to either side and had golden lights spaced across the zone.

"Richard, Leona and Crash, I like for you all to walk up to the arena, as it will be where the battle will begin." The Creator instructed.

The three participants walked up into opposite sides of the arena, while The Creator teleported to her location, with Richard and The Creator being on the right side, and Leona and Crash being on the left side.

Suddenly, the golden lights began to shine, and it blinded the audience, as the area around them turned into Tekken 6's Fallen Colony, and the crowd were standing in midair, surprising some of the people here.

But what was surprising, is that Richard was dressed up like Tekken's 6 Jin Kazama, complete with the black leather jacket, and Teh Creator was dressed up like Nina Williams, even coming with her hair being tied in a ponytail. Crash and Leona were surprised by their looks, as it was something they never seen before.

"Like the new look?"" Richard asked smugly, with a nasty smirk. "I even got the skills to back my wild outfit."

"Prepare yourselves." The Creator said, now being in character with the very person she is dressed in, and then shifted into a battle pose. "We will not hold back."

Richard just shifted into a battle pose, raising his fists to battle.

The pokemon duo also prepared to battle, as they raised their fist also.

"Neither will I." Crash retorted, as a screen appeared above them, and it showed the match in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 format.

 **GET READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE**

 **Crash Valentine & Leona Belmont vs. Richard Liu & Creator**

 **Master of Flames & Cold-Blooded vs. Master & Tekken God (Titles)**

 **Single Round Match**

 _Current Music: Divine Bloodlines (Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles )_

Suddenly, the screen converted into a enlarged version of the battle, with the HUD being also of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and the announcer of the very same game announced, as Leona and Creator backed off the field, and stood on: "Fate spins on this battle! FIGHT!"

The two of them roared, and charged among each other, and began to exchange blows, while blocking the opposition. Richard drew first blood as he rushed towards Crash as he pulled back his right fist and unleashed a firm right hook, which caused some of Crash's stamina and bar to diminish, and Richard proceeded to follow up with a left hook, but Crash recovered fast enough to block the mid blow, and then countered by uppercutting Richard, which caused him to rise into the air, and then proceeded to juggle Richard in the air, before sending him down with a mid-air downwards kick, causing Richard to fall on his back onto the ancient stone floor, which was beginning to crack.

 **Stamina**

 **Crash: 90% (Recover range: 5%) Richard: 76% (Recover range: 10%)**

Crash then proceeded to try and jumped up, to elbow-drop on the downed Richard, until Richard put his hands on the ground, and lurched forward, landing a double-legged kick on Crash sending him back towards the ruin walls, and then rushed up to him, before grabbing Crash's head and proceeded to bash it on the wall a few times, before clutching the head with both hands and lots of strength and throwing it to the ground, causing it to break the ground, and add some pain to Crash, as he fell through the floor. He tried to get up, but Richard jumped down, and pushed all his might into his legs and crushed Crash's torso under it, before hopping off, and guarding.

 **Crash: 55% (Recover: 35%) Richard: 85% (Recover: 1%)**

Crash got up, and proceeded to ram Richard, which Richard sidestepped, causing Crash to smash his head on a wall, and then Richard grabbed his torso, and then did a flurry of punchs on Crash's stomach, winding him constantly, before he somersaulted backwards, and smashed Crash's head on the floor, and then flipped back up. Crash got up, with severe damage to his stamina, panting in pain.

 **Crash: 25% (Recover: 25%) Richard: 86%**

Crash then roared in anger, and then proceeded to do a haymaker right at Richard, which Richard tried to block, only to be sent back onto a wall, where Crash pinned him to the wall with continous punches to the face, before kicking Richard in the stomach with a reversed kick, causing Richard to slump down.

 **Crash: 35% (Recover: 15%) Richard: 35% (Recover 23%)**

The two of them went into close-quarters, and then attempted to combo each other, as Richard managed to swiftly dodge a jab by leaning right, and returned with a countering upper-cut, which was in turn blocked by Crash, and Crash managed to get a overhead smash with his right fist in, as he managed to floor Richard, and then kicking Richard with a roundhouse, which sent him back. Richard then rushed back at Crash, managing to grab Crash by the shoulders, before head-butting Crash repeatedly, before throwing him to the ground, and then grabbing him in the head, and then kicking it like a rugby ball with a hard leg, causing Crash, to flip backwards. They were both filled with bruises, and were breathed in a ragged motion.

 **Crash: 9% (Recover: 21%) Richard: 7% (Recover:23%)**

"You're not so bad after all, Crash." Richard huffed. "No wonder you are renowned as a good fighter over at your dimension."

"Guess all that saviour talk was true..." Crash smirked back.

They then both hopped out of the temple, and in their place were Leona and The Creator.

 **Front**

 **Leona: 100% Creator: 100%**

 **Back**

 **Crash: 10% (Recover: 20%) Richard: 9% (Recover: 21%)**

The two of them proceeded to do quick blows on each other, as Leona used kicks to land blows on the Creator, and the Creator just simply thrusted a forward kick, breaking Leona's process of attack, and sending her back into the wall, and the Creaot wasted no time, before doing quick palm thrusts in a combo and finishing with a double-handed palm thrust, which causing Leona to drop down.

 **Front**

 **Leona: 75% (Recover: 13%) Creator: 100%**

 **Back**

 **Crash: 20% (Recover: 10%) Richard: 19% (Recover: 11%)**

Leona got up, and then rushed at the Creator, and then grabbed her with both arms on the torso, and then turned around, and threw the Creator overhead. The Creator tried to get, before she was knocked down by a scissors kick courtesy of Leona, and then Leona proceeded to curb-stomped Creator in the face a few times, causing some blood to leak from her mouth, and then Leona finished off by a flip kick, which landed on the Creator's chest.

 **Front**

 **Leona: 83% (Recover: 5%) Creator: 54% (Recover: 17%)**

 **Back**

 **Crash: 30% Richard: 30%**

The Creator got up, and began to grab Leona's head firmly, before lurching it down, and kneeing it hard a few times, before throwing her head back up, before grabbing her right arm, before swinging her into a wall, causing Leona to wince in pain. Leona recovered, and they began to engage in close combat, hitting each other a few times, and the Creator was knocked to a level where she was almost down for the count, and Leona remained without a single flinch, although she is covered with bruises.

 **Front**

 **Leona: 25% (Recover: 5%) Creator: 4% (Recover: 17%)**

The Creator switched out of the arena, and Richard came in front of Leona, and then began to kick Leona with a leg thrust combo, connecting blows across her body, before switching out and the Creator did a palm-thrust combo, further damaging Leona, before they switched again, and Richard finished the fight with a upwards kick, sending Leona flying upwards, and landing on the ground defeated.

 **K.O!**

 **Richard & Creator Win!**

The entire area dissolved in light particles, and they were back at the Core, where there were various cheers, for both teams, and Richard grabbed Leona's arm, and pulled her back up.

 _Music cuts_

"Feel anything?" Richard asked.

Leona felt around her body, before she gave her answer.

"There's... no pain at all..." Leona stuttered, surprised at the miracle.

The Creator then began to help Leona out, and Crash and Richard remained on the arena. However, there was a sudden rush of wind, as a cloud of dark smoke appeared on the field, and it turned into a Darkness version of Tekken's True Ogre, its skin being now black, and its eyes being red.

Suddenly the crowd collectively gasped in surprise, as they saw the demon in front of them.

Richard was also surprised, and whipped around towards the Creator.

"Is that... a Darkness Ogre!?" Richard shouted in worry.

"It unfortunately is... I knew that I should have kept them away, and there is now a invader... I'm sorry..." The Creator sincerely apologized.

Suddenly, walls of darkness began to surround the arena, as the area turned into Azazel's Cave in Tekken 6.

"Crash. Are you ready for another battle?" Richard asked desperately, we can;t escape here unless we beat that bastard. "Looks like we have our chances to strengthen our bonds as allied fighters."

"True that. I'm in." Crash replied.

The two of them prepared to fight as Crash moved to the outer edge of the arena, as Richard was the starting fighter against this boss, and another screen lighted up to show the fighting stats.

 **EXTRA STAGE**

 **Vs. Dark Ogre**

 _Current Music: Ogre Theme (Tekken 3)_

"No turning back! FIGHT!" The anonymous announcer declared.

Richard proceeded to knock Dark Ogre back with a hard fist, but the beast blocked the attack, and slashed back at Richard, stunning Richard for a while as the beast proceeded to pummel him with a large chunk of his stamina gone. Richard recovered ffrom the attack quickly, and then aimed for a sweep kick, which hit the beast, and Richard followed up with a quick one-two before slamming a alternative sequence of right hook, left hook, which continously drained the stamina of Dark Ogre, before Richard managed to guard quick enough to avoid a double-handed smash.

 **Richard: 65% Crash:100% Dark Ogre: 60%**

Richard then switched with Crash, and Crash began to throw kick after kick at the beast the moment he landed, and he then switched with Richard, as Richard followed up the attack with a series of uppercuts.

 **Dark Ogre: 20%**

The beast then roared, before slashing a vulnerable Richard with a flurry of claws, and then sending him back into a crystal, shattering it as Richard slammed into it, severely injuring the boy.

Crash switched out with the defeated Richard and tried to attack, only to be grabbed by the beast, and then slammed onto the ground repeatedly, before being thrown away. Crash managed to recover mid-air, and jumped off a crystal, flying into Dark Ogre's face and giving it a hard punch in the face, which finally knocked the beast down with a pained roar.

 **K.O!**

 **YOU WIN!**

 _Music cuts_

The Darkness Ogre dissipated in a fog of darkness, and Crash pumped his fist in victory.

"Whoo!" Crash hooted. "Now that's a fight worth remembering."

Richard limped towards Crash and Crash saw him covered with bruises.

"Guess you really are a good fighterrr..." Richard said, before he fell on the ground.

"RICHARD!" Crash yelled out, grabbing him, and measuring his pulse through Richard's wrist.

Alex was watching this entire scene, and was worried about Richard, and both Terrias and Aria was looking at Richard with terror, and Piermont, having awoken just after the fight, is confused, and was asking Alex what is going on.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in Richard's mindscape_

Richard woke up in a area filled with darkness. He got up, and walked around the area, trying to figure out where the hell he was, but no matter where he went, he always ended up in the same spot.

"What the hell..." Richard muttered. "Did I... die while I was fighting the Darkness Ogre?"

Suddenly, a large sphere of light appeared, and Richard turned around to look at it directly, and the light sphere go closer and closer, and then landed right in front of Richard, before it dissipated, to show the very Bird of Cosmos, Phoenix, which was in the same appearance as shown in Osamu Tezuka's stories and manga, her entire body being surrounded by gleaming golden feathers, and her tail feathers being like a peacocks, and blue in colour, and her head bore a comb that was identical to a rooster's.

Richard was amazed at the sight, and kneeled for her.

" **You need not kneel for me, Richard.** " The Phoenix stated in a kind female voice, which resounded around the entire area, and bearing a divine echo. " **Yu are not truly dead, only unconscious. At this moment, your friend is measuring your pulse, and found out that fact as well, but he is still checking around your body to be sure that you aren't gravely wounded."**

Richard was surprised by this at two accounts, one is the fact that the Phoenix is right before him, and two, the fact that Crash is ACTUALLY taking care of him.

"But why are you here? There must a just cause for your appearance." Richard asked.

" **The reason I'm here is because I have decided that you are the most worthy of becoming my only successor, considering all mortals from my dimension are too greedy for their good."** The Phoenix explained.

"What!? But that's not right! I'm normal, and I have done things that make me sinful as well!"

" **Yes, but you are the opposite. Instead of acting nice, but evil inside, you bear a kind heart, except for some times where worry and ambition taint your heart."**

The Phoenix pecked a hole on her right talon, and raised to Richard. Richard knew what the gesture meant, and hesitated.

"You're... giving your blood? I can't accept it... Sometimes, being mortal is the better choice, as being immortal in the wrong situations could cause you eternal suffering, something that death would release you from..." Richard refused politely.

The Phoenix just smiled at this, and spoke again.

" **I understand where you got that idea from, the very person I gave immortality to, Masato Yamanobe. But however, you can choose to keep your body in any age you wish for. I understand that being eternally old is a curse where you would lose your physical body, so that is why I agreed.  
** " The Phoenix assured.

Richard just took a moment to look between the blood pooling on her talon and her kind and generous face, before reluctantly drinking the blood with a single gulp, before wiping his mouth on his hand.

" **You are now immortal, and given the power to lock your physical age, which the previous immortal created by me never had.** " The Phoenix declared. " **And you have the power to become a hybrid as well, bearing my power. However, you must promise that you will not use your powers for evil causes, such as for money."**

Richard just grimly smiled.

"I assure you, Phoenix, that I would never use my powers to do anything of the evil sort. I will also promise that I will restrain my powers, so that I cannot kill anyone." Richard admitted.

" **Good. I see that you won't betray that promise.** " The Phoenix stated. " **But there is one more thing you must do."**

As she talks, the entire area begins to brighten, as black turns to grey, which turns to white.

" **Wake up."** These were the Phoenix's last words, before Richard's vision turned entirely white.

* * *

 _Back to reality_

"...Wake up! Wake up!" Crash shouted at Richard, which Richard heard, as his hearing was being restored.

Richard then opened his eyes, and saw that Crash was administering CPR on him, before he grabbed Crash on the shoulder with his right hand.

"I'm okay, Crash." Richard assured. "Still, thanks for trying to revive me."

Crash just simply stood up, and pulled Richard up.

"Thank God..." Crash muttered. "I thought you were bloody dead, and then there was that symbol appeared on your left hand."

"Symbol?" Richard said, before he put up his left hand, and he saw that right on the back of the palm of his left hand, there was a golden chibi angel wing, which was shining when light was put on it.

"So it was all real..." Richard thought.

Richard then proceeded to proceed to where the Creator was, and The Creator had a worried expression.

"I know I may be weak, but we still have the finale, I'm sure I can do it.' Richard assured.

The Creator's expression lightened, and then she grabbed Richard's hand, as the area darkened, and the place where they were standing rose into a podium, which became the stage, and wireless microphones appeared in their hands.

Suddenly, the instrumental intro of Bruno Mars's "Just The Way You Are" boomed around the area, and the duo began to sing and surprisingly, the Creator's voice almost sounds like a perfect female vocal version of the song.

Richard & Creator:

Ohhhhh ohhhhhh ohhhhhh ohhhhhhh~

(Richard and Creator begin to sing into their separate microphones, each singing solo in their own sections of the song.)

Richard:

Oh, her eyes, her eyes

Make the stars look like they're not shinin'

Her hair, her hair

Falls perfectly without her trying

She's so beautiful

And I tell her everyday

Yeah

Creator:

I know, I know

When I compliment her she won't believe me

And it's so, it's so

Sad to think that she don't see what I see

But every time she asks me, "Do I look okay?"

I say,

(The Creator walks to Richard, and falls in front of him, only to be catched by Richard, and they look deeply into each other's eyes and both of them sing the chorus, with their voices echoing)

Richard & Creator:

When I see your face (face, face...)

There's not a thing that I would change

'Cause you're amazing (amazing)

Just the way you are (are)

And when you smile (smile, smile...)

The whole world stops and stares for a while

'Cause, girl, you're amazing (amazing)

Just the way you are (are).

Yeah…

(They separate as the instrumental plays, and Richard does a motion of straightening his tie, and the Creator does a peace sign towards the audience with a toothy grin, causing roars of approval and adoration.)

Richard:

Her lips, her lips

I could kiss them all day if she'd let me

Her laugh, her laugh

She hates but I think it's so sexy

She's so beautiful

And I tell her everyday

Creator:

Oh you know, you know, you know

I'd never ask you to change

If perfect's what you're searching for

Then just stay the same

So don't even bother asking if you look okay

You know I'll say,

(Suddenly the entire stage blasts with lights of all kinds of colours of the rainbow, and they flash around, especially a pink light appearing above the heads of the performers in the shape of a heart, only for a Christmas pine tree to appear below it, with the light heart being the top of the tree.)

Richard and Creator:

When I see your face (face, face...)

There's not a thing that I would change

'Cause you're amazing (amazing)

Just the way you are (are)

And when you smile (smile, smile...)

The whole world stops and stares for a while

'Cause, girl, you're amazing (amazing)

Just the way you are (are)….

(They trail on the last word for a while, as the song begins to end with a few chords, and all lights except the separate spotlights shining upon them.)

The entire audience burst into cheers and shouts of encore, and the two performers bow gracefully, as the area began to light up back to normal.

So, a great Christmas has come and passed the Core, leaving some fun times amongst the variety of characters and heroes from all dimensions, and they left one by one, thanking each other as friends, or making vows to out-shine each other as rivals, each disappearing through the different doors of the Core. Richard, however went back to the Real World to celebrate Christmas (Again) with his friends and family in reality, just before he greeted Alex, and the two of them vowed to become allies should they cross paths in another dimension. Little did he know that the power of the Phoenix knows no bounds amongst space and time….


	10. New Years Special!

X-Over Multiverse ZX New Year Special

Disclaimer: All characters excluding my OCs are property of their respective owners.

This is the first chapter that will be writen in script fomat

* * *

(The entire scene starts white, and the logo appears from behind the camera, and falls towards the screen, before stopping with a thud sound, and the entire logo shines from top-right to bottom-left diagonally, and the background fades black, and the logo remains for a moment, before it fades as well.)

 _Current Music: Bones to Pick (Undertale Fan Music)_

(A golden 5 appears on screen covering the center of the screen, before fading away to show Chara in the Judgement Hall, bearing a bloody knife and blood spattered all over her clothes. She seems to be grinning manically, until Richard appears in front of her, wearing a fur coat the same as the one Sans wears, but still wearing his runners and glasses and bearing a grim smile. Chara gasps at the person in front of her, as if he was somehow familiar.)

Richard: (snark) Well well well... (tsks while shaking his head) It seems that you made it to the finale of your 'run'.

(Chara simply just grips her bloody knife harder)

Richard: (mouth now forming a surprised O) Oh? You want to try me? (Chuckles lightly) How should I say this... Oh I know! (facial expression changes into a arrogant smirk) You're a idiot. Flowey was right all the time, except he didn't know... that the term refers to the fact that you're going to fight me.

 **You feel multiple unseen presences in the air...**

Richard: (continuing the text acting as Chara's thoughts) ...and they seem famillar. Why? Because you see... Not only you're going to have a bad time...

(Suddenly, Richard's left eye ignited with a blue flame, and his right eye ignited with a orange flame, and transparent visions of Undyne, Papyrus, Mettatron, Sans, Toriel, Asgore, and even the true form of Asriel)

Richard: (booming, and slowly) **We're going to have a good time murdering you with all our powers. Your cycle will break!**

 _Current Music: Battle! Regi Trio (Pokemon Alpha Sapphire/ Omega Ruby)_

(The scene fades to black as a golden 4 appears on screen covering the center of the screen, slightly larger than the last number, before fading away to show Richard dressed in his usual clothing, facing against Blue on the Champion Pokemon Area)

Richard: So this is it... All those sacrifices... All the sadness, has come to this... (Shoves out his right arm with a pokeball gripped in his hand) I challenge you, BLUE!

(The crowd roars around the arena, and Blue just simply scoffs and pulls out a Pokeball and throw it up and down into his hand.)

Blue: You really were a persistent brat, aren't you?

Richard: Likewise.

(The two of them prepare to throw their first pokemon)

Richard: Go, Ben!

Blue: Go, Pidgeot!

(They land and open to show a Blastoise and a Pidgeot, and the scene also fades, and a golden 3 appears as the scene fades to black, even more larger, before the black screen fades to show a black GAT-01 Strike Dagger with decals of black chi letters being painted on its shoulder plates, and boosting across the sea surrounding the area)

 _Current Music:_ _~ Realize ~ (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed)_

Richard: *wearing no helmet, although he is wearing a pilot suit* Guess I'm going solo for this one. I may not be lucky enough to find another Strike so that I can be a Strike-Gundam team with Kira...

*Suddenly, red lights flash inside the cockpit, and the camera pans to the HUD, showing some familiar mobile suits red pointers with unreadable markers*

Richard: *silent while reading the markers, before gasping, and speaking in a surprised tone* What what what!? They're here already!? And I thought that this was going to be a battle where I won't risk getting trashed by them!

*Richard suddenly presses a few buttons, before a screen showing Kira Yamato in his cockpit of the Strike Gundam*

Kira: (Annoyed) ...Why are you calling me? If it's about some ambush that got units trapped, I can't help. I'm in a-

Richard (desperate) Listen, Kira! I just scanned ahead and downed a battalion of ZAFT that were planning a ambush. But that's not the problem! They're here, Kira! They are f**king here! Excuse me if you can't bear a cuss, but I need back-up.

Kira: I understand you're not lying, but aren't you one of the best aces in battle.

Richard: (unamused) You forgotten that you're the only one with a weapon as strong as them. My mech would be strips of metal if I took them alone! I may be rude here, BUT I NEED BACKUP, OR THERE'S GOING TO BLOOD SPLIT ON THOSE COASTS!

Kira: (shocked) ...Okay. Just... calm down, please...

Richard: (apologetic) I'm sorry I snapped, but I think that there's a good chance i'll be targeted by them. Meet me where my location is, okay? Just keep it down. I've still avoided contact, but not for long if you wait too long.

Kira: ...Roger.

(The scene fades to black and a golden 2, bigger than the previous numbers appears in the centre, and the screen fades to show Gideon riding his motorbike, with Richard, with blood-spattered clothes, sitting on the back and holding onto Gideon, and Juliet in the side-car.)

Richard: Say, I got to appreciate the fact that you even let me sit here, Mr Starling. I wouldn't dare to sit at this spot without your orders.

Juliet: Wait!? You're a fan of dad!?

Richard: I'm not yet, but if I could, I would've in a instant.

Gideon: (chuckles) You sure are one funny kid. You may look nerdy, but you sure do kick ass.

Richard: (shocked) You complimented me!? THE WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL!

Juliet: (covering the ears) Quiet, hotshot. You'll attract every zombie in the area.

Richard: (covers his mouth) Shit... But still, i'm no normal nerd, I'm a badass smarty!

Gideon: You may be one, but... (looks menacingly at Richard, and speaking in a aggressive tone) if you do anything hasty with any of my sweeties, and i'll make you zombie food, got that!?

Richard: (scared) Aie! Juliet's too good for someone like me! I'm just helping her.

Gideon: (looks at the front again) Good.

(The three of them arrive at Fulci Fun Centre, with the static screen right at the top of the building)

Gideon: This sure is one weird place.

Richard: Agreed, legend. Now... (looks towards Juliet)Let us allow Juliet to show us the attack plan.

(The scene fades to black and a golden 1 appears, the largest of all the numbers, but then there was "..." that follow the number, and the screen and number fade into a scene where Richard is at the Core, dressed in his normal attire with his back towards to the camera, and the entire area around him is pitch black)

Richard: (solemn) ...So it has come to this... (slowly turns around) I never thought I had to do this with my friends, but...

(Suddenly the area suddenly begins to brighten, and a smiling Impa standing next to Richard, with her blade sheathed and dressed a yellow version of her clothes, and Link is wearing yellow tunics, and is leaning towards the right from behind Richard, before doing a peace sign with his right hand and flashing a goofy smile. Lana is later shown, wearing her Sorceress of Time costume standing above Impa, and looking away, with only her right eye looking at the audience, with the rest of her face, covered up with hands, and Toni flashing Caliburn, who is bearing a annoyed expression, and is in his Super form floating above Link, emanating a golden aura and color on his fur, and suddenly the top of the screen is shown, with a banner draped above, with "HAPPY NEW YEARS!" written in bold yellow letters)

Richard: (shouts excitedly, breaking the solemn mood) HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!

(Suddenly fireworks of all kinds of colors, mostly yellow explode around the background, and the five characters wave at the screen, as if greeting the audience behind the screen.)

Richard: It may have been slightly short, but I predict that I'm going to have a good journey. Those visions? They're basically glimpses into the future of my adventures. As for why the rest aren't here? Well, Zelda had to prepare her kingdom for New Years, and she was too busy. Anyway, I like to thank you for all the views that you gave me, and thank you Panther J for the generousity to allow me use of your OC, Toni, and summarizing every chapter I wrote to help people understand the story. But now... It's time to end this new years with a bang.

(Suddenly the Creator appears in a pillar of golden light, dressed normally, and then points her staff at the camera)

Creator: (smiling) May you support our hero along his journey, visitors of another dimension.

(Shes fires off her rod a few balls of light, before they sail up, and they explode into "A NEW YEAR HAS COME! REJOICE THE COMING OF NEW STORIES AND REALITIES! SEE YOU IN THE FIRST MONTHS OF THIS YEAR!", with each ball forming a word and exploding in a steady pattern)

* * *

A/N: Oh my god, I finally gone and done 2 holiday specials in 2 weeks. Sorry if they are slightly sketchy, but still, I like to write a chapter, as New Years is also a global phenomenon. I hope you guys will enjoy my story, and become at least people who enjoyed it (I don't expect fans too much). Hope you all have a great year, and don't forget to vote in my polls and criticize this story if you like to. Cheers to a new year of Fanfictions!


	11. Chapter 7: A Modern World Life Is

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 7: A Modern World Life Is

In the Previous Chapter:

 **"All in a day's work of a hero. Two down, five to go."**

 **"That's 120 rings off my bat. Yours, Sonic?"**

 **"How do you know Cream?"**

 **"City Escape Zone... The only level in Sonic Adventure 2 that I enjoyed. Looks like I'm the better one for this area."**

 **"I.. I don't get what you mean..."**

 **"Name's Antonio the Hedgehog. Speed's my game, and Sonic's my father! But you can call me Toni."**

Disclaimer: As said in earlier chapters, I own only Richard and Gus.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley_ _(Sonic Generations)_

The Sonics, Toni, and both Richards stopped by the sculpture of Crisis City Zone from Sonic 2006, and standing beside it was a Toni examined the sculpture for a while with narrowed eyes, and then he snapped back in realization, and turned to Richard.

"I know this place!" Toni said. "This is Crisis City, right when my father Sonic was catapulted into the future, where something called Iblis controlled the entire world. Even thinking about it made me shudder in fear every time, with all the chaos in that place at that time."

Richard was frowning as he heard Toni, and then replied. "Yeah... It was also the future which Silver the Hedgehog had to suffer in. It was by luck that you were never in that kind of future."

Modern Sonic, however was confused. "Say what?" Modern Sonic blurted with confusion. "I never had any adventures in the future, not any that I remember."

" _Then it's concluded that this Sonic isn't the same one who went through the 2006 arc."_ Richard mentally concluded.

 _"Indeed."_ Mimir replied inside Richard's mind in a calm voice. " _I scanned all the Sonics, and the Modern Sonic had no memories regarding the incident."_

 _"Huh. Let's see which eras he remembers."_ Richard assured Mimir. " _Besides, are you sure Ares is fine being sidelined for a while?"_

 _"Checking."_ Mimir stoically stated, and there was echoing footsteps inside his mind, owned by Mimir walking through his mindscape, and the footsteps stopped, only to start again louder with two sets of footsteps sounding in his mind, causing Richard to wince from the noise inside his head, before the footsteps stopped.

" _For Christ's sake, Mimir!_ " Ares bellowed inside Richard's mind. _"I already know what Richard's thinking, and it wasn't worth silencing the entire area just so that you could beat me into a pulp, and why? Because I refused. If you and I were both real humans, then you would be breaking a few rules about human rights!"_

Richard just imagined what Mimir would have done to Ares, if Ares was all riled up, and then mentally sweat-dropped at both the fact that Mimir forced Ares to give his reply, and the fact that Ares knows human rights.

" _Note to self, stay the hell away from gods fighting in my-"_ Richard mentally noted.

 _"You do know that we can read your thoughts, right?"_ Mimir interjected.

 _"Merde! (Shit!)"_ Richard mentally cussed, while mouthing it physically.

 _"Do know that if you really want to swear, do it in English, although we still can understand all other languages as well as we can understand it. And please, do have a sense of censorship. We can't have our avatar having a cuss fit."_ Mimir warned.

" _Fine. But if I hold this mental chat any longer, the others will think I'm crazy. So Ares, how do you plead?"_ Richard asked.

 _"Don't care. The temporary powers replace the need of me, and it's good for me, as I can spectate and learn some new skills."_

 _"...I'll get back to that after I defeat Time Eater."_ Richard finished, before he refocused back to the outside world.

By that time, all Sonics, his younger self and Toni are all gone, and Richard looked around, before he was going to go into the sculpture/teleporter, and found Shahra floating near the entrance.

"Why are you here, Shahra? I thought that you had to be with your master." Richard asked, anxious about the reason and being suspicious that she has something to say.

"I have come to help ease your suspicions about Antonio the Hedgehog, as it seems that you aren't fully trusting him." Shahra replied, confirming Richard's suspicions.

"...I see." Richard replied, pausing momentarily. "You're right about that. Antonio almost seems like a copy of Sonic, save for the fact that he can control his Chaos power. But the question is this: How did he get you and Caliburn? I thought that you were bound to be Sonic's servant."

"You are correct, however, this also applies to later generations if the item I am bound to is inherited by a son or daughter, and the rights are passed to them. Caliburn, although refusing to admit it, has also been bound to Antonio. I am happy to be in his possession, and so has Caliburn, although he never voiced his approval. " Shahra explained.

Richard let a long sigh, relieved that he can loosen his worries a bit, considering that Toni has rightfully got these item

"Guess I have to chase after them. Maybe by the time I enter the zone, they'll be back. Are you coming with me, or is it best to stay?" Richard asked.

Shahra simply just nodded her head, stating that she will stay.

"Very well. Tell Toni that I currently hold good respect and trust for him, and that'll ease his worries." Richard said, before he went through, but not with Shahra giving him a kind wave to send him off.

* * *

 **Crisis City Zone Act 2 (Modern)**

 _Current Music: Crisis City Modern (Sonic Generations)_

Richard started off the zone running down a metal grated ramp that had hot magma surrounding the area, making Richard sweat profusely from the heat, and jumped across a gap in the road, with the help of Homing-Attacking three mini versions of Iblis, being smaller phoenixes, passing by ruined building with rubble stacked on the footpaths and some of the piles igniting intensely with a orange flame that matched the burning sky above in colour. He also Homing-Attacked a few Iblis Hands, which were hands of molten lava reaching out to grab and burn any living being near them, to traverse a part of the road that is broken into many pieces and formed a shallow line of steps leading upwards,

He ran through a Boost Ramp, which he accidentally almost tripped on, making him fly in the air wobbling, and causing a landing that made Richard stumble forwards, before he caught himself before he went past the edge of a broken part of the highway, where the small rocks that he pushed landing into the magma below, causing a series of plops and some sizzling, reminding Richard, that he should not even touch the lava. He continued his run-through of the zone, and was met by a fork where there were two roads, and Richard took the left, making sure to avoid falling as he took the higher path, and using a combination of pulleys and Jump Pads to scale a destroyed skyscraper, and jumping across the tops of buildings to get to another Boost Ramp, which led him to another section of the destroyed where lots of Boosts Pads were placed in a line.

They caused Richard to run through at fast speeds through a loop-de-loop, and making it through a destroyed building, with lots of platforms, and at the end, a lava stream that is obstructing his path to the next building. Richard screeched to a stop, causing some sparks to fly from the momentum, and he observed his surroundings thoughtfully, noticing that there was a rock platform suspending on the stream of lava, and Richard went on it, before proceeding to ground-pound it a few times, causing it to be low enough for Richard to pass through a hole, and the moment he stepped off, the lava stream pushed the rock platform back up, and surprisingly did not splash lava where Richard was.

He then proceeded through to the next building, which made him use his platforming skills just as much as the last building, including some rock platforms suspended by streams of lava which he had to ground-pound, except halfway through the building, he had to go to the bottom of the building, where there were a mix of metal and rock platforms, with a pool of lava right at the bottom. He managed to escape the building with a Boost Ramp,

He landed onto the final section of the stage, where he dashed through the broken highway, which now had flames spurting from cracks on the road, and had to fall a few times, as he was met by blockades of cars and debris, and used Boost Rings to stay above the lava, before he saw a tornado filled with flames standing just behind the Goal Ring, menacingly approaching it, threatening to swallow the area where the Ring was, which would make it impossible for Richard to escape.

 _There's no goddamn way I'm dying here just because of a moving flame tornado!_ Richard frantically thought, before he ran faster, and managed to grab the ring, which immediately teleported him back to White Space, a second before the flame tornado engulfed the area.

 _That was goddamn close_ , were Richard's last thoughts before he was sent back.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

Richard went out of the statue, only to be met by Toni, who had a worried expression on his face. Both Modern Sonic and Adventures Sonic were exchanging storeis of their own adventures, with Classic Sonic quietly eavesdropping on them. Younger Richard was simply looking around, curious about this very place.

"Thank god you're back, Richard." Toni said with relief. "I was so worried when we found out from Shahra that you went alone."

Richard sighed at this. "I held my own. Then again, to tell you the truth, I used to run these stages with Modern Sonic, or the father you know.

"That's a relief. That stage was quite scary to be honest, as that flame tornado-"

"You don't need to finish that. After all, we all did this stage."

After a while, the sculpture returned to its full colour, and so did the frozen Gus and Blaze. When they were both fully freed, Blaze looked around, only to realize that there were actually 4 Sonics, including Toni, who bears minimal difference to Sonic.

"What!?" Blaze cried in surprise, and then switching to a furious tone, as she raises her hands and ignite them into flames to attack them. "I demand a explanation of this, or I'll burn you Sonic imposters to ashes!"

Richard just came over to Blaze's side, and put a hand on her right shoulder, which surprised her and got her attention, but Richard's calm expression gave her a sense of safety.

"They're not copies or impostors of Sonic. They are all real Sonics, only from different times." Richard explained, pointing to Toni before continuing. "Especially this one, who is Sonic's future son."

"No wonder they seemed familiar, yet different in appearance..." Blaze said, while putting her hands down and extinguishing the flames on her hands.

Richard just gave her a assuring smile, and then he walked to Gus, who watched the entire thing happen.

"So Gus, anything you learnt from Blaze? The skill I gave you should give you any basic fire magic the moment you learn to use it." Richard asked.

"It feels like it..." Gus replied, unsure about his answer. "I had a tingling feeling when I saw her hands burst into flames, as if it was some clue to learn something..."

Richard sensed the uncertainty in Gus's voice, and drew the shield of Heaven's Will, and positioned it to guard his chest.

"Try to conjure something up. Don't worry if you manage to make it work, because this shield will protect me." Richard said.

Even with Richard's words, Gus bore a worried expression, as he rose his right hand, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

 _'Okay. I have to find that tingling feeling again, so that I can somehow copy what Blaze would do, which is a basic Fireball.'_ Gus thought _'I got to trust Richard for this one. After all, he's stronger than me, and I can't stay weak and helpless.'_

Gus begin to exert more concentration, as he tried to summon a fireball, as his face crinkled up.

 _'Come on... I have to at least try. Where's that feeling? Where is it? I feel like I'm getting closer. And now... I can feel it!"_

At that moment, the palm of Gus's right hand glowed orange, as a ball of fire the size of a marble appeared, and it swirled around, gathering more flames into the ball, slowly expanding it to be the size of his whole hand, and he suddenly opened his eyes and fired it at a very fast speed, causing it to leave streaks of flames, and it hit Richard's shield with such force that Richard was knocked back by a metre, with Richard slightly losing grip on the shield.

"Damn!" Richard exclaimed with awe. "That must have been hard, Gus! I grew accustomed to holding this shield, and to make me lose grip on it even slightly, you must have hit it hard. I think that this is no regular fireball! It should be given a grander name!"

Gus smiled at this compliment. "Thanks, Richard!" He replied. "Even I felt that fireball's force. As for it's name, when I got that feeling, it felt like that the fireball was fired from a gun with lots of force. So I should dub it... Flame Bullet."

 **GUS, NEW SKILL GET!: Flame Bullet**

 **A slight twist to the basic Fireball spell, this variation, although the same size, packs more damage than its normal version, and even contains a lot of knockback. The consequence, however, is that the spell is harder to cast and exhausts more stamina or mana when used.**

"Good to have something to protect you, Gus." Richard said. "But right now, only the Sonics and I can save this world. I'm sorry if I have to leave you alone for a while."

"I see... So the other two Sonics, excluding the Modern and Classic, are also Sonics of different times?" Gus asked.

"Yes." Richard replied, not wanting to say anything further, to prevent Gus from being confused by the fact that the timeline of this world is twisted. "And we still have Link to save. If you head left, Gus, you'll find Zelda and Impa in different areas."

"Thank god..." Gus said. "At least I'll have some allies if we're attacked. I'll get to them now."

Gus was prepared to run off, but before he could go, he heard someone say "Wait!", and he turned around, only to be hugged tightly by Richard.

"Just something to give you luck, friend. Be safe and don't die, alright?" Richard told Gus in a caring tone.

Gus smiled, and hugged Richard back, and they seperated. Gus gave Richard a wave as he ran off.

Richard then turned around, and called the Sonics, Toni and his younger self to follow him, and they made it to the front on the sculpture of Rooftop Run.

"Well." Richard said. "You know what to do."

The group went into the sculpture, ready for whatever is on the other side.

* * *

 **Rooftop Run Act 2 (Modern)**

Current _Music: Rooftop Run Modern (Sonic Generations)_

The group appear through the purple portal, and run through a alleyway, knocking out some of the enemies that are blocking the road, and managed to reach the top of the buildings through a set of platforms leading up, and used the balloons to reach a area that is separated from the block of building, and having a clear view of the whole world around them. The entire town was engaged in a carnival, with sets of flags hanged around, and confetti floating everywhere, and the sky is filled with hot air balloons of various colours. Everyone stopped, and they took the moment to enjoy the environment. Richard took the moment to ask Modern Sonic something.

"Hey, Modern Sonic." Richard asked politely, trying to avoid annoying Modern Sonic. "Do you somehow remember this place?"

Modern Sonic put up a thinking pose, before shaking his head and answering, "I feel a sense of deja vu, but I can't put a finger on it."

 _"I see."_ Richard thought. _"Sonic Unleashed was within the modern Arc, and he does have deja vu at least. So his memories will return about this place after we clear it."_

The group resumed their path through the zone, jumping off the building, and grinding on hand-rails, making their way across the town, even passing a few points of interest such as the town hall, and a fancy mansion, avoiding traps on the way, with Richard even almost being impaled by a falling spike platform, despite having the same control over speed, and having to switch lanes to avoid spiked barrels to jump off a ramp and fly in the sky, and land running on a set of rooftops, everyone trying to keep their balance throughout the challenge.

They then made their way to a platforming section, where they jumped through, to reach a set of ancient rails, which led them right to the bell tower, which they ran up, defying gravity. Their trip didn't go smooth, as Egg Chasers has aimed lasers towards them from their front, and they dodged them with great ease, before launching off the edge of the tower, and flying high up in the sky. Richard looked at the ground, and regretted doing that, as he let out a terrified scream, as they landed on another set of rails sliding straight down in 180 degrees, making whatever things that Richard was going to vomit fly back into his throat, and they landed back onto the ground of the town, and continued running, with Richard stopping for a moment to retch for a while, before chasing after the group.

They managed to go through another section of the town, and used balloons to get from one end of the block to another block of buildings, and they managed to go through a area filled with spike platforms, only to escape just before they landed, and went through a loop-de-loop, and they ended up meeting another set of Egg Chasers that are aiming towards them right on a runway, unable to be reached via Homing Attacks. They were in a unfortunate situation, but Richard took a moment to look forward, taking note of the environment, and finally found a way to get rid of the Egg Chasers, which is to knock the Egg Fighters inhabiting the runway, and use them as projectiles to hit the Egg Chasers. He quickly told the group his idea, and they executed it quickly, taking down wave after wave of Egg Chasers, and were met by the Goal Ring sitting in a temple, and they immediately disappeared after hitting the Ring consecutively with massive force.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

When the group has returned to White Space, Richard took a few staggering steps, before falling down.

"180 straight down..." Richard groaned. "Plus goddamn speed... It sucks like hell... This really brings back my fear of heights..."

Modern Sonic noticed Richard sprawled on the ground, and helped Richard back up.

"Hey? You okay, Richard?" Modern Sonic asked.

Richard staggered for a while, before straightening up and replying, "I'm okay. Just no more goddamn falling 400km/h towards the ground... I think skydiving is out."

Toni just giggled at what Richard said, and Richard heard Toni and gave him a glare.

"What so freaking funny!?" Richard demanded. "You don't have problems falling, so don't go around thinking everyone's as fine as you, Mr Perfect."

Toni put a hand up to signify that he needs to calm down, and in a while, he stopped laughing all together.

"Sorry. My bad." Toni apologized. "It was funny, but now that you say it like that, I don't think I can laugh anymore."

"It's fine. But please don't laugh at my misfortunes. I have my strengths and you have your own." Richard replied.

Meanwhile, the sculpture returned back to full colour, with Younger Richard and Classic Sonic fist-bumping each other, and Vector also gets unfrozen, and after looking around, he sees everyone, and staggers back as he sees that there are multiple Sonics.

"Wha what whaaa!?" Vector blurted. "Where did all these Sonics come from?"

Richard just came up to him, and gave Vector a slap to the face.

"Vector! Get a hold of yourself!" Richard said. "You're fine. The other Sonics are just Sonics from different times."

Vector remained wide-eyed as his head tried to process the information, and he calmed down soon after.

"Well. Never thought you're a hero yourself, kiddo." Vector said. "I knew that when you helped me when I choked, that you were quite a nice guy."

"That's rich from a bounty hunter like you." Richard retorted. "I'm not all sweety-boy when it comes to the worst."

Vector heartily laughed at this, and pat Richard's back, which he appreciated.

"You really are hard in that outside of yours, but you're a big teddy inside like me." Vector admitted.

"Maybe." Richard said with a smirk. "Depends on what my mood is. At times, it may be a black hole of hatred, in right circumstances."

Toni shuddered at what Richard said, and came over to Richard's back, and tapped Richard's shoulder lightly from behind.

"I hate to break this macho chat, but we have another zone to go through, Richard." Toni reminded.

Richard turned towards Toni, and nodded before finishing up.

"Well Vector, looks like I got a job to do, and I have to do it now." Richard said.

"Well, be safe, or I'll pound your ghost if you die." Vector joked.

Richard chuckled at this, and turned away, and walked to the next zone with the group, including Younger Richard, who seems to looking at Richard.

' _Is this really the future me?'_ Younger Richard thought. _'After all, I was once anti-social, and yet he is here being a nice guy to everyone.'_

The group moved onto the sculpture of Planet Wisp, and they went in without a word, already not interested in a conversation before entering.

* * *

 **Planet Wisp Act 2 (Modern)**

 _Current Music: Planet Wisp Modern (Sonic Generations)_

The group started off on a bed of exotic flowers, and ran off into a set of rock platforms, with a endless abyss below them, and they navigated them without trouble, and even managed to use a Bumper Pad to reach a lonely platform that is held high in the sky, making it look like a tower, and the Sonics landed safely, but Toni overshot his landing, and slipped off the edge, about to fall to a untimely death, until Richard managed to dive quickly enough to grab Toni's hand. Toni looks at the ground, and gulped audibly, before Richard pulled him back up, and they fell down sitting and huffing in exhaustion.

"Damn. You're quite heavy for a fast guy." Richard huffed. "Was it the chilli dogs?"

"Damn right it is." Toni replied. "Like father, like son."

They took a moment to look around them, having a good vantage point, and saw that the world is filled with natural flora and life. Richard absorbed the view around him, before he saw that the Sonics using a line of Rings to do a Lightspeed Dash back onto the ground, and Richard and Toni soon followed after, and they moved onto a set of treetops linked with a few weathered wooden bridges, through a Jump Pad bouncing them back, and soon reached a swamp filled with poisonous purple muck, and they used the rails to stay above, and kept switching rails to avoid falling into the poison swamp, due to unfinished rails, and used a Boost Ring to jet towards a set of rails that is far away, which led to a cave that in turn took them to a platforming area, with rock platforms that are unstable and fall soon after a person lands on it, and at the top, they found Orange Rocket Wisps being trapped in capsules.

With a simple gesture, they activated the powers simultaneously to rocket upwards into a sector which looked like a construction site, which became a huge platforming area for the group, with all kinds of traps and the use of Orange Rocket Wisps was abused to the last Wisp. Eventually, after a few traps, and hitting through blockades with their bare bodies, they reached the top, where a futuristic teleporter lied, with the Goal Ring sitting in its centre. When they trudged through the Ring, they were sent back to White Space.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

When the Modern group returned from the last regular stage of the entire world, they were filled with bruises everywhere, due to Orange Rocket Wisps forcing them through blocks made out of hard stone, although it didn't nullify the pain, as the entire group was moaning in utter pain, and Classic Sonic and Younger Richard were shaking and mentally traumatized at what they become after being transformed by Pink Spike Wisps. The two groups looked at each other, especially Richard and his younger self, and when they looked at the condition they were each in, they broke their gazes, giving off signs that read "I think I better not ask about it.".

The entire team took a moment to recover from their physical and mental pain, and the zone slowly lit up in full color, and the Chaos Emerald was refilled with power and lifeforce, and Richard took it, examining it over.

"Huh, that's neat." Richard uttered. "Saves the trouble of finding the 7th Chaos Emerald after we done all Rivals and Bosses."

"Who are you talking to?" Adventures Sonic asked, curious at who Richard is talking to.

Richard sighs, and replies annoyed, "No-one."

And suddenly, Charmy the Bee slowly returns back to full colour, and he looked around.

"What happened around here?' Charmy asked to no-one.

Richard just simply noticed that he had a dilemma in his hands, and tapped Classic Sonic's shoulder while he was conversing with Younger Richard, and he turned to notice Richard asking if he could come to Charmy's side. Classic Sonic nodded his approval, and they went in front of Charmy, and got Charmy's attention with a simply "Hey!", which causing the child bee to look at the two of them.

"Oh! It's you Sonic! Your look is very different, but you make me safe." Charmy cheerfully greeted Classic Sonic. "But where's my team?"

"They're over there." Richard said, pointed to the left, where the rest of the characters were.

"Thanks, but who are you?" Charmy asked.

"The one who helped Vector back at the party." Richard simply stated with a sly grin.

"Oh... So you're the one who helped that big lug. Anyways, I have to find my teammates, so thanks!" Charmy said, before he flew off to where Richard pointed.

Classic Sonic was happy as he was praised by someone he doesn't know, but the other Sonics didn't have the same feelings. In fact, they're quite annoyed that they never greeted Charmy, especially Modern Sonic, who is the only Sonic who knows Charmy.

"Hey! What's the big idea not letting us meet Charmy!?" Sonic shouted to Richard.

"Yeah!" Toni and Adventures Sonic agreed.

"Well, would you prefer Charmy losing his head!?" Richard retorted in a harsh tone. "He's still a kid! I ought to scold you for that selfish thought!"

The other Sonics noticed that Richard made a point, and shut their mouths immediately. The entire group then went around the area, looking for the key to the Gate at the end and the 6th Chaos Emerald, and soon found Silver in a alcove.

"What!?" Silver cried, startled at what he was seeing. "Who are you!? Are you all Sonic impostors?"

"The answer's in my head. Trust me." Richard assured Silver.

"Very well, the mind cannot lie, so it's best to grab the information in your head." Silver said, who calmed immediately down, and his eyes glowed fully green as he was reading through Richard's mind. After a while, his eyes went back to normal, and he announced his findings.

"So that's why I sensed the timeline breaking. There are multiple Sonics trapped in this world, and only the Chaos Emeralds can save time itself. Guess I was wrong to call the Sonics of different times clones of the original Sonic." Silver said.

"Then may you give us the Chaos Emerald, please?" Richard replied.

Silver shook his head. "It's not that simple here. I can't just give it." Silver stated. "The Chaos Emerald is somehow stuck in my possession, and unless its ownership can be won off, it'll just reappear in my hands."

Richard put on a thinking pose, and then asked, "How real has the battle has to be? I can't fight you to death, and neither would you."

Silver just sighed at this, and responded, "It's not to death, but the fight has to be practically to the best of our abilities, otherwise the gem will not accept it as a transfer of ownership due to your victory."

Richard just smiled at this, and turned around towards Toni.

"Hey Toni! Looks like you get to have a real battle." Richard exclaimed. "You in for it?"

Toni came over and smiled while he said, "Sure! I'm game for anything to get that emerald!"

Silver just looked upon Toni, and to Silver, something is famillar about Toni to him.

 _'Wait...'_ Silver thought. _'That cocky attitude... That look... Could it be that this is Toni the Hedgehog, fully named as Antonio!? Then that means that I'm fighting a legend that protected this world many times before I came to birth! I better not let back my power, as both Richard and Toni will not either.'_

Silver just nodded slowly, and then turned to the portal which would lead to the Rival Course.

"If you wish to fight, then pass through here, and your challenge will be accepted." He intoned, before entering the portal.

Richard and Toni glanced at each other, and then nodded together as a sign of confirmation, before entering the purple portal in front of them.

* * *

When they entered the portal, they ended up in Crisis City again, except there is not as much destruction as the other zone, and the sky is coloured by the orange sunset. However, Silver the Hedgehog was nowhere to be seen, which left Richard scratching his head, both metaphorically and literally.

"What the hell?" Richard growled in anger that Silver is not here. "I thought Silver would have a battle with us when we were through the portal."

"Beats me." Toni said. "I don't know where he is, but by his expression before, he wouldn't chicken out."

"But if he wasn't fleeing, then where is h-?" Richard asked, before they heard something whistling through the air, and they both turned around to see Silver holding a bunch of cars using telekinesis, and that very scene induced fear in both of them.

"SHIT! RUN!" Richard shouted to Tony.

"You don't need to repeat that!" Tony yelled back, before the two of them took off. "I'm not that stupid!"

Richard and Toni are running across the desolate city, trying to avoid trying to get squished by the objects that Silver's telekinesis is throwing at them.

"Impressive. It seems that you got the same prowess as Sonic, without his arrogance." Silver remarked.

"And you're quite handy with that telekinesis of yours." Richard responded. "However, I won't lose this battle."

"Yeah! I can't lose to you, Silver!" Toni shouted back to Silver. "I'm just like my father Sonic!"

"Such a reminder for a great hero at a young age..." Silver muttered. "I known Toni to be a great hero to society exactly 170 years ago, but I never thought that I would have to face off him..."

Silver kept on attacking them with thrown objects, and sometimes even teleported to the side of the highway, before lifting a few cars mid-air, and slamming them down wherever the heroes would be, and then teleport back in front of them and keep up the process of trying to hit them with all kinds of debris, including empty spherical gas tanks. Richard took the moment to analyse any weakness that Silver has, and then found it out, before stopping for a while, while tapping the ground behind with the toes of his right foot like a runner's starting position, before letting off his boost, becoming a streak of golden light, and slamming into a car that Silver just threw, sending the projectile back to its owner, knocking Silver down, while he bounced on the ground and his body was tossed around in the air, before he righted himself, before teleporting right back above them.

This time, he changed his attacks, by gathering objects in his vicinity, and meshing them together into a large metal blockade to stop them reaching him. However, the heroes simply jumped on the blockade, and used their boost to catch up to Silver, and Toni managed to homing-attack Silver, knocking him to the ground for the second time. By the time Silver recovered, it was evident to both heroes that Silver was livid with anger, and then watched him teleport behind them, and then his body flashed a bright green, as any debris in the city was clumped into a ball, and Silver was using telekinesis to hold it.

"This is the end!" Silver roared with determination. "TAKE THIS!"

Silver threw the ball of debris at them, and it began to pick up momentum and roll towards them, and both heroes had to use their boost to stay ahead of the ball, while dodging Silver's attacks, which intend to knock them into the ball. However, Richard managed to dash ahead of Silver, and turned around to administer a Homing Attack onto Silver's back, knocking him into the ball.

"Try to stop this with psychic!" Richard taunted with a grin, adding insult to injury.

Silver slammed right into the ball, unconscious from the back blow, and miraculously, the impact caused the ball to rumble to a stop, and Richard and Toni went through the portal back to White Space.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley (Sonic Generations)_

When Richard and Toni were back from the battle, they saw that Modern Sonic and Adventures Sonic were doing a set of the game paper-scissors-rock, and Younger Richard was looking at the white Chaos Emerald above their head, while slowly went down into Richard's open palm, and he then pocketed it with the other Chaos Emeralds.

"That's 6." Richard stated. "All we have to do is get the Boss Gate open, and we can finally get the 7 Emeralds we need to fight Time Eater."

"We took care of that. You all took a while to beat Silver, so the rest of us went through the zones again, and found the Boss Keys to open the gate." Younger Richard answered, handing over the purple keys to Richard.

"I owe you great thanks, young me." Richard said, thanking Younger Richard. "We can now fight the last enemy in our way to Time Eater."

The group went to the Boss Gate, and the keys slotted into the keyholes and the gate opened.

"Wish you all luck, friends." Richard said.

And with those words, they entered the gate to fight the next boss.

* * *

The moment that they entered the portal, the Modern Team (Modern, Adventures, Toni and Richard) appeared in a technological tunnel, with lava below the tunnel, showing by occasional glass panels. Suddenly, the Egg Dragoon flew right in front of them, before letting forward a mechanical roar. And the cockpit on top opened to show Eggman.

"You meddled for the final time, Sonics! I'll end your pitiful lives here. And you!" Eggman shouted through the speakers of the mech, before pointing to Richard. "I'll kill you especially for what you did to my Death Egg Robot!"

Richard just simply put up a evil smirk, and then gave Eggman the "double bird", waving it around, while having a face with his lips pulled back.

"Fuck you Eggie!" Richard retorted. "You can't kill me, but I'll mutilate you! And if you even touched a single hair of my younger self, I'll show you the depths of hell!"

Eggman suddenly began to fume and slam his fists on the control panels.

"You dare mock me!?" Eggman roared. "I'm a genius! I'll crush you under my latest invention!"

"You can try-" Richard tried to say, before he felt something snap inside him, before he fell on his knees, and he clutched his head tightly, as intense searing pain burnt through his head.

"AAGGGGAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHH!" Richard cried out in pain, before convulsing violently.

The entire group rushed over to Richard, trying to comfort him, and even Eggman watched the entire scene with wide eyes, worried that something very terrible was going to happen.

"Richard! Are you alright?" Toni asked, worried at how Richard is shaking.

"What do you think!?" Richard hissed through gritted teeth, trying to resist the pain that is flowing around his whole head. "It hurts. IT FUCKING HURTS LIKE HELL!"

Suddenly, sparks of red lightning appeared on Richard's body, flashing on and off like broken lights. They soon became arcs of lightning in the same colour, zapping across Richard's body, but the only pain Richard has was from the unbearable pain in his head, and the arcs of lightning soon split into more arcs, and soon, Richard's body was surrounded by arcs of red lightning, and he then let out his pain through a ear-shattering roar of pain towards the heaven, as a red pillar of light engulfed him. The pillar stood untouched for a while, before it split into two, and the two pillars subsided to show Richard on his fours, looking down at the ground, and panting from exhaustion, and Ares in his full armour.

"What are you doing here, Ares?" Richard croaked, exhausted from what happened before. "Don't tell me that you caused the pain…"

Ares just simply turned around, and saw the condition that Richard was in, and then gave him a pitiful look.

"I'm sorry I had to do this. We can also get out of your mindscape to summon ourselves, but it would cause a lot of pain to the person." Ares apologized.

"Then why…?" Richard groaned. "Why did you want to come out….?"

"Because I just sensed that the Darkness have found something to infect, and I'm afraid that the Time Eater has been powered up by it, considering both are made from darkness, which sums up this- NOT A GOOD THING. Although I didn't want to get involved in this world, the timeline here is tearing itself FUCKING apart, and we have to move faster, or this world is going to shit, so I'll help you for this moment." Ares said, speaking a bit louder as he shows his desperation.

Both Adventures Sonic and Toni were surprised at how Ares and Richard have the same look, and they were about to open their mouths to complain, but Ares stopped them.

"If you're asking who I am, I'm Ares, one of Richard's godly guardians. The reason we bear the same appearance is because our true form has no shape, and we only bear the shape of our vessel, except for a few changes." Ares explained to them.

They closed their mouths, and Toni just looked at Ares for a while.

 _'Looks like Richard is more of a vessel for some otherworldly gods, but at least he proved he's a capable teammate.'_ Toni thought.

Eggman was watching the whole thing, so frightened of Ares, as he just heard that Ares himself was a god, that he was literally shaking in the cockpit, and he pointed a shivering finger at Ares inside the cockpit.

"W-Ww-hho are you-u?" Eggman whimpered.

Ares turned around, and then frowned, before giving Eggman a wrathful glare, as the irises of his eyes glowed very brightly, before fading back to normal.

"Your executioner." Ares replied with dripping disgust, before drawing his weapon.

Are's weapon was a large grim scythe whose pole is red with orange flame decals on it, and on the end of the pole lied a human skull, being the pole's cap, and the blade was gleaming in the sun, being made of silver metal, and sharpened to a point where the point of the blade was literally as thick as a needle, and suddenly, the blade burst into hell-fire, which decorated the metal with a red tint, and markings of the words "WRATH", "WAR", "HATRED", all in bold black letters, decorating every empty place of the scythe.

"You should consider yourself lucky, that you have an ice cannon, and that I'm using my weapon to kill you. Many people have died so easily, that all it took was a mild choke to end their pitiful lives. It only took me a notch of my pressure to kill them, and any strong mortal or immortal who survived my chokes at full power, would then have the honour to cool my scythe off with their blood, and it was all too easy again to defeat or mutilate them with a single swipe. However, since your mech is considerably well-defended and large, it will take me 5 more seconds to end this fight, and since you did a good act in the past, I'll reward by promising to destroy your mech first, and then take the cockpit and execute you personally." Ares coldly said.

Eggman was frightened by the very feats that Ares could accomplish. If any immortal would die easily in the hands of this very god before him, what chance would he have? However, he decided to face his fears.

"Y-you w-won't d-dd-defeat m-mee!" Eggman stuttered, still paralysed with fear. "I-I'm-m a gg-genius-s-s."

Ares just laughed cruelly at Eggman's words.

"You don't seem so confident." Ares smirked, before his mouth twisted into a sadistic smile. "Allow me to shatter your dreams… confidence… bones…. AND YOUR LIFE!"

Ares then flew off the ground, and hurled himself at high speeds towards the Egg Dragoon, and then disappeared, only for a flurry of slashes to appear around the body of the mech, before he reappeared back where he was standing, back towards the mech. He then brought the blade of the scythe in front of his face, and then blew the flames on it out. At the same moment, the Egg Dragoon began to split into many parts, and each of the parts were sliding apart from each other from the gravity, and they fell into a pile of scrap metal with a dust cloud on impact.

The cockpit however withstood the instantaneous assault, and out came a battered Eggman, who crawled out of the cockpit due to the impact, and his trademark mustache was ruined, as the hairs were all spread out in a dirty manner.

"Why can't I win...?" Eggman moaned. "I was supposed to win this battle..."

" **Silence."** Ares ordered, his pitch now being so low that it sound like a loud growl that boomed across the whole room. This frightened Eggman further, as he crawled back a little.

"And why would you win?" Richard asked smugly. "After all, we heroes always beat you villains, because you bear many flaws. We heroes too have flaws, but we can expose your flaws to defeat you first."

Suddenly, a purple portal appeared beside the group, and out came Classic Sonic, Classic Tails and Younger Richard.

Classic Tails saw Eggman, and then asked, "Why is Eggman here? I thought he was taken by the Time Eater before when Classic Sonic and Younger Richard defeated his Death Egg Robot?"

Suddenly, a large purple portal appeared, sucking the pile of metal, and Eggman who was on it, before disappearing after finishing its job.

"...And he gets kidnapped again. This is getting stranger by the second. Let's head back." Classic Tails continued.

Ares then came in front of Richard, and then put his right hand on Richard's right shoulder.

"Well, guess I'm done here. The rest is up to you, kiddo." Ares said.

"But why? Why did you just come out to defeat Egg Dragoon, and then leave me again? I need your help if I'm going to fight Time Eater." Richard asked.

"Well... About that, I think you already have sufficient power to defeat it." Ares responded, while shrugging. "And Mimir predicted the near future, although it took him a lot of time and concentration, and we found you something you'll like, but I won't spoil that now. After all, we wouldn't want to spoil something exciting, would we?"

Ares then did a one-barrel finger gun with his right hand, making the thumb and second finger perpendicular to each other, and then winked while clicking his tongue twice. Richard understood what the expression meant, and smiled.

"I see... Looks like Sonic's not the only one who will be powered up in the battle." Richard smirked. "Oh, and Ares?"

"Yes?"

Richard then threw a hard right hook into Are's face, which knocked him to the right, and that made him hold his cheek which was red where the fist connected with the flesh, and the look of Are's face proved that it hurt him.

"That's for not asking me to summon you. Now we're even for what you did." Richard said.

Ares smiled, and then stood back straight up.

"Guess I had to get that some time soon, after what I did. I _did_ hurt you when I shouldn't." Ares replied.

"Good. Now back to being friends again?" Richard asked.

"You got it."

Richard then concentrated on Ares, which was then engulfed in a red pillar of light, which shrunk into the size of a pencil, and then flew right into the centre of Richard's forehead, which sucked the light in, indicating that Ares is returning to Richard's mindscape.

By the time the light was absorbed into Richard, a purple portal appeared beside the heroes, and they went back to White Space.

* * *

 _Current Music: White Space Medley_ _(Sonic Generations)_

After the heroes went back through the Boss Gate, the Teal Chaos Emerald fell into Richard's hand, and he pocketed it.

"That's all 7 Chaos Emeralds." Richard stated. "Now I can show you why we needed all 7 of them to progress."

Richard moved forward, and they were soon met by a set of charcoal-black and ancient platforms, with 7 giant gears made out of gold, each being shattered into many pieces, which were all floating, and having a circular slot in the middle of each one. To the right was a portal so large that it could fit a entire battleship. Unfortunately, it is inactivated and dormant.

"That's the way to the Time Eater's lair." Richard said. "All we need to do is get the portal to work, and we can fight the Time Eater and save the world."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Toni asked with a grin. "We don't have any fun waiting."

Toni was about to run, but Richard grabbed one of his back quills, stopping him.

"Woah there, hotshot." Richard goaded. "You can't just rush in. If you ran, you would just hit the stone wall. You see, those broken gears are used to power up the portal to his lair, but unfortunately, he was smart enough to break them up, and only great amounts of energy would be able to make them whole again. That's what the Emeralds are for."

"But wouldn't we lose the Emeralds? We need them for the battle." Modern Tails asked, confused at what Richard is planning to do.

"No it won't. Watch." Richard simply said.

He then pulled out the 7 Chaos Emeralds that they collected, and they suddenly left Richard's hand, as if a invisible force is attracting them to the gears, and they each slotted into each gear, and clanking noises were heard as the pieces were pulled back together, and they whirred to life as soon as all the gears are repaired, and they turned to rotate the crystal powering up the portal, and the rotation became faster and faster, until the purple and dark portal came to life with a loud roar. The Chaos Emeralds then detached from the gears, and flew back into Richard's hand.

"The doors are open. It's time for the final battle for this world." Richard intoned, as if speaking a sacred passage.

The group stood up to the platform that was on the center of the portal's base, and before they went in, Richard turned to them.

"Once we are in here, we can no longer return to here, unless we either win or lose this battle." Richard said. "Are you sure you all are prepared for this?"

The entire group nodded.

"Then it's time. We're going to defeat the Time Eater, once and for all!" Richard said.

The group then jumped into the portal as one, and they disappeared in the purple and murky darkness.

* * *

 _Current Music: Time Eater Battle (Sonic Generations)_

When the heroes landed on the other side of the portal, they were in a area where there was only a cliff, and the entire sky was purple, with clcok symbols everywhere in the air, and the sound of clocks ticking and tocking rand through the area.

They then saw the Time Eater, who is in a different form, having its ghastly face, and a core right in the centre of its body, and having four hands made of darkness with crystals acting as the fingers of each hand. It wiggled the fingers of its hands, as the heroes approached it.

"Alright, whoever you are, give up now, or you're in it for a beating!" Sonic boasted.

Suddenly, the top of Time Eater's head opened to show Eggman shaking his fist.

"You're in no position to demand anything from me, you nasty little pincushion!" Eggman retorted back.

When the entire group was surprised that Eggman was the one piloting Time Eater, Modern Sonic facepalmmed himself for not figuring it out earlier.

"Eggman? But how?" Sonic asked.

Suddenly, another spot on the Time Eater's head opened, to reveal a second cockpit, showing the Classic Eggman.

"He had a little help, from his past self, isn't that right, Mr Eggman of the Future." Classic Eggman sneered.

"Certainly, Mr Eggman of the Past. You see, after I was defeated by you, the annoying hedgehog, I met the most primidorial form of this being, and learnt from research that this machine is capable of erasing time and space, something I cannot master. If I could use it, then all the past defeats will be nothing as I change the past where I win all the time! But in order to perfect, I needed someone to possess the same genius intelligence as me, and that is me from the past! I was the one who flung your friend across time and space, and I was surprised that I sucked up more people than I anticipated, but at least I would have something to bait you all to me!" Modern Eggman explained to the heroes.

"You've gone utterly insane from all the defeats, Eggman!" Richard exclaimed in anger. "Not even you would have such a heart to destroy time and space with this abomination! If you keep trying to change time and space, this universe will collapse from itself, and there won't be a universe for you to even rule!"

"Ho ho ho... Isn't that stupid..." Modern Eggman giggled. "I would've never have done this, but I've grown tired of all of this. If I can't have the universe, THEN I'LL DESTROY IT SO THAT NO-ONE HAS IT, AND SONIC IS ALL DEAD AND GONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

At that moment, Richard saw that Modern Eggman was radiating a dark purple aura, and Classic Eggman soon laughed alongside him, and the aura also radiated around him.

"And now, it's time to crush the hedgehogs, and since there's 4 of them, I'm going have QUADRUPLE times the fun annihilating you all one by one! And you, puny boy, when I'm done with the hedgehogs, I'll beat you dead, and throw your body to float in the timeless void forever! Now DIE!"

The cockpits on Time Eater's head closed, and balls of dark energy began to appear in each of its hand, and it throw ball after ball of dark energy balls at the heroes, forcing them to seperate. The group were targeted by the Time Eaters, and the situation was getting more hopeless by the second, but then, Richard grabbed the Chaos Emerald, and threw them at Toni and the three Sonics

"Catch!" Richard yelled, and both Sonics did just that.

When they touched the Emeralds, they suddenly began to form a circle around the two heroes, and they began to spin around the two Sonics, spinning faster and faster, until a flash of light engulfed everything within the circle, and the light vanished to show them in their golden Super Forms, with Toni now having the Golden Kinght Armour, and having Excalibur in his back sheath, and the Emeralds then flew right back into Richard's hands.

"Now go and get them, Sonics and Toni! Finish the Eggmans once and for all!" Richard cried out joyously.

Modern Eggman saw what happened, and he then thumped the panel.

"Damn that boy! But not even Super Sonic will defeat us, now that we have space and time in our hands!" He fumed.

The Time Eater then entered a purple portal, and the Super Sonics and Toni followed.

Richard and Younger Richard could only look at the open portal.

"Guess it's all up to them. We can;t fight midair." Richard said.

"I'm scared..." Younger Richard said, beginning to shake in fear. "This world is scary... I really don't like this place at all... And that machine looks so strong that those Sonics could lose..."

Richard then crouched down, and surprised Younger Richard with a hug.

"No... They'll win. That's what happens everytime Sonic fights Eggman. We may not be able to fight him with Sonic, but the Sonics are strong enough. Be strong, young me. After all, we''re braver than this." Richard comforted.

 _Current Music: Time Eater Battle (Sonic Generations)_

When the heroes landed on the other side of the portal, they were in a area where there was only a cliff, and the entire sky was purple, with clock symbols everywhere in the air, and the sound of clocks ticking and tocking rand through the area.

They then saw the Time Eater, who is in a different form, having its ghastly face, and a core right in the centre of its body, and having four hands made of darkness with crystals acting as the fingers of each hand. It wiggled the fingers of its hands, as the heroes approached it.

"Alright, whoever you are, give up now, or you're in it for a beating!" Sonic boasted.

Suddenly, the top of Time Eater's head opened to show Eggman shaking his fist.

"You're in no position to demand anything from me, you nasty little pincushion!" Eggman retorted back.

When the entire group was surprised that Eggman was the one piloting Time Eater, Modern Sonic facepalmed himself for not figuring it out earlier.

"Eggman? But how?" Sonic asked.

Suddenly, another spot on the Time Eater's head opened, to reveal a second cockpit, showing the Classic Eggman.

"He had a little help, from his past self, isn't that right, Mr Eggman of the Future." Classic Eggman sneered.

"Certainly, Mr Eggman of the Past. You see, after I was defeated by you, the annoying hedgehog, I met the most primidorial form of this being, and learnt from research that this machine is capable of erasing time and space, something I cannot master. If I could use it, then all the past defeats will be nothing as I change the past where I win all the time! But in order to perfect, I needed someone to possess the same genius intelligence as me, and that is me from the past! I was the one who flung your friend across time and space, and I was surprised that I sucked up more people than I anticipated, but at least I would have something to bait you all to me!" Modern Eggman explained to the heroes.

"You've gone utterly insane from all the defeats, Eggman!" Richard exclaimed in anger. "Not even you would have such a heart to destroy time and space with this abomination! If you keep trying to change time and space, this universe will collapse from itself, and there won't be a universe for you to even rule!"

"Ho ho ho... Isn't that stupid..." Modern Eggman giggled. "I would've never have done this, but I've grown tired of all of this. If I can't have the universe, THEN I'LL DESTROY IT SO THAT NO-ONE HAS IT, AND SONIC IS ALL DEAD AND GONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

At that moment, Richard saw that Modern Eggman was radiating a dark purple aura, and Classic Eggman soon laughed alongside him, and the aura also radiated around him.

"And now, it's time to crush the hedgehogs, and since there's 4 of them, I'm going have QUADRUPLE times the fun annihilating you all one by one! And you, puny boy, when I'm done with the hedgehogs, I'll beat you dead, and throw your body to float in the timeless void forever! Now DIE!"

The cockpits on Time Eater's head closed, and balls of dark energy began to appear in each of its hand, and it throw ball after ball of dark energy balls at the heroes, forcing them to seperate. The group were targeted by the Time Eaters, and the situation was getting more hopeless by the second, but then, Richard grabbed the Chaos Emerald, and threw them at Toni and the three Sonics

"Catch!" Richard yelled, and both Sonics did just that.

When they touched the Emeralds, they suddenly began to form a circle around the two heroes, and they began to spin around the two Sonics, spinning faster and faster, until a flash of light engulfed everything within the circle, and the light vanished to show them in their golden Super Forms, with Toni now having the Golden Kinght Armour, and having Excalibur in his back sheath, and the Emeralds then flew right back into Richard's hands.

"Now go and get them, Sonics and Toni! Finish the Eggmans once and for all!" Richard cried out joyously.

Modern Eggman saw what happened, and he then thumped the panel.

"Damn that boy! But not even Super Sonic will defeat us, now that we have space and time in our hands!" He fumed.

The Time Eater then entered a purple portal, and the Super Sonics and Toni followed.

Richard and Younger Richard could only look at the open portal.

"Guess it's all up to them. We can;t fight midair." Richard said.

"I'm scared..." Younger Richard said, beginning to shake in fear. "This world is scary... I really don't like this place at all... And that machine looks so strong that those Sonics could lose..."

Richard then crouched down, and surprised Younger Richard with a hug.

"No... They'll win. That's what happens everytime Sonic fights Eggman. We may not be able to fight him with Sonic, but the Sonics are strong enough. Be strong, young me. After all, we''re braver than this." Richard comforted.

Younger Richard began to meekly smile.

 _'Yes, but you're in for a battle.'_ Mimir said inside Richard's head.

"Mimir!?" Richard said. "What do you mean?"

' _Summon me first, Richard. I don't want to have to do the same thing as Ares.'_ Mimir ordered.

Richard concentrated, and summoned Mimir through a light-blue pillar of light.

"I know you can't fight without something to fly with, but that can be arranged." Mimir said. "Hold still for a few seconds, you two."

"Right." Both Richards replied simply, before doing exactly as he said.

"Alright, this may hurt. _O great gods of wind, I call upon thee power to grant these mortals the power of flight!_ " Mimir chanted.

Two blue magic circles, with runes embedded on the outer edge, appeared under the feet of the past and present Richard, and suddenly, wings popped out of their back, and they bent forward from the force of the wings appearing, before straightening back up. Richard had the Lancelot Albion Wings on his back, downsized to be the same size as his body and back, but the wing panels are gold instead of the usual cyan colour. Younger Richard, however, had feathered angel wings, which bore a rainbow colour, each column of feathers being a different colour of the rainbow spectrum.

"Wow!" Younger Richard gasped, while looking at the wings, and tried bending them with his will-power, and they bent exactly as he willed it to do, and he then fluttered slightly above the ground, with the wings beating softly. "It feels so great to actually have wings, and it's so easy to use them to fly!"

Richard watched Younger Richard, and not wanting to leave his younger self alone in the sky, he squatted down, before jumping fiercely, in which he flew straight up, before stopping, with the mechanical wings humming softly.

"These wings will sustain themselves forever, if you are worried about the time limit of the magic, and can only be dispelled if I, the caster, do it, or the owner wishes to stop flying any more." Mimir explained. "But however, let's give you something you'll like before you join the fight."

Suddenly a large purple portal appeared, and all the other character who are freed from the zone were there, and they looked at the two Richards who are in the sky, and cheered them.

"Get them with Sonic, boy!" Knuckles cheered.

"Show that Eggman that handsome boys like you don't lose that easily~" Rouge cooed.

"Pummel that egg, Richards! We may have met, but I ge the feeling that you and I can become bros!" Vector roared with joy.

"Go and get my Sonic back, and maybe I'll even kiss you if Sonic allows it!" Amy shouted.

"Don't give up Richard! You're going to win this for sure!" Link yelled.

"Remember your training, Richard." Impa said. "This battle will be yours."

"Richard! Beat Eggman and save the world for us, will ya!?" Gus shouted.

Richard heard the encouragements of the entire group of characters, and then smiled.

"Don't worry! Me and my younger self will save the world alongside the Sonics!" Richard shouted.

Younger Richard and Richard went through the gaping portal.

When they were through, they were in a purple void, with pieces of destroyed worlds floating in the air, and they saw that the Super Sonics were trying to get close to Time Eater, but the Time Eater blocked them with homing balls of energy, and even punching the Sonics away, and then he heard a beeping coming from Modern Sonic.

"Sonics! I worked with my past self to modify these transrecievers to contact you from a different dimension! We'll help out from here!" Modern Tails's voice crackled from the speakers on the transrecievers.

"We'll find a way to defeat Time Eater. You keep the monster busy!" Silver said.

"Sonnnniiiccccc!" Amy's loud voice projected from the device. "If you die here, I'll pummel you in the timeless void!"

The two Richards then boosted towards the group of Sonics.

"We have to get to the core, and attack it! If we don't, you'll run out of Chaos Energy and lose the Super Forms!" Richard exclaimed.

"Got it." Modern Sonic replied, before boosting around a debris field, trying to avoid being slowed down by the flying debris, and the rest followed him.

The Time Eater then warped far away, and then pulled one of its arms back, and a purple portal appeared in front of them, and the arm thrusted forward, and came out of the portal, trying to grab them. The entire group dodged the arm, before it retracted and disappeared, before the Time Eater floated back in front of the heroes. Richard then boosted right near the purple core of the Time Eater, and then unsheathed his weapon Heaven's Will, before rushing in front of it, and then slicing it continuously before finishing off with a strong downwards slash, which cracked and damaged the core, causing dark smoke to leak out of it, and causing the machine to roar, and then fire a dark shockwave, which pushed the heroes back.

It then created two portals which it thrust two of its arms through, and then swung the severed arms around its body, trying to swat the heroes down. Richard then pulled out a Hyruliean Sword that he found back in Hyrule, and then motioned for Younger Richard to come over.

"Here! Take this as your weapon!" Richard shouted, before handing the sword to his younger self. "You'll need it to attack the core. All you have to do is just swing it like you would with a normal sword!"

Younger Richard inspected the sword, and then smiled at his new weapon. They then managed to avoid the debris, and Time Eater's homing energy balls at the same time, giving the heroes a opening to attack. The three Sonics then moved as one, and then simultaneously homing-attacked the core, and drilled into it, damaging the core further, and causing the Time Eater to repel them again with a shockwave and roar.

"We're so close!" Younger Richard shouted. "I can feel that monster beginning to break apart!"

The heroes then had to deal with more attacks, as the Time Eater began to attack faster and the attacks became more difficult to dodge, and the Sonics and Toni were hit a few times, knocking them back, but Richard and Younger Richard took the brunt of the assault, being smushed between the Time Eater's hands, and being hit by a few energy balls, which shocked their bodies with pain. The heroes endured the assualt, before then roaring, and then time began to slow on the heroes, making then slower.

"Wwhhaatt'sss hhappppeeenniinngg?" Richard asked, his speech slowed by the altered time.

"Iiii ddoonn'tt knnnoowww..." Toni said. "Tttimmmeee seeemmms ttoo bbee sslloowwwiinnnggg down."

Suddenly, the Time Eater's mouth opened, as a ball of dark energy was being created, and it was sucking all the dark smoke that is leaking from the broken core. By that time, time returned back to normal for the heroes, and they were soon paralysed, as Eggman fired homing shot after homing shot, making the heroes dance around the skies trying to dodge all the attacks. Suddenly, the Time Eater's head turned towards Younger Richard, and then fired a beam of purple energy.

Younger Richard saw that the dark energy beam was heading for his way, and he couldn't dodge it in time due to the homing shots limiting his movement, and he closed his eyes in fear, waiting for the beam to consume and destroy him, with tears leaking from his eyes in fear. However, Richard saw that the beam was about to hit Richard, and the entire world slowed down, not because of Time Eater controlling the time, but for dramatic effect. Richard pushed Younger Richard out of the way, and Younger Richard righted himself, before seeing that Richard was in the pathway of the beam.

"No!" Younger Richard exclaimed.

"Take care of yourself, and avenge me for this. You still have a future, and I'll protect it, even if I have to die for you, my younger self." Richard said, smiling grimly.

The beam was rocketing through the skies, and was very close to Richard. The entire team saw that Richard was in the way of the beam, and tried to get to him to save him, but were too late.

"Goodbye."

That were the last words that Richard uttered, before the beam consumed him, and when the beam finished piercing Richard, he was mortally wounded, with a gaping bloody wound on the chest, which is the size of the entire chest, and his wings are broken, sparking yellow lightning and the wing panels are flickering on and off rapidly. The entire team looked at the floating body of Richard with shock, and Younger Richard rushed towards.

"Future Me!" Younger Richard cried with pain and sorrow, before grabbing the body of Richard, and shaking it. "Please don't be dead... I still haven't asked you how the future would be... It's so scary and dark... Please... come back..."

The Sonics bowed their heads in sorrow, with tears coming from Toni, as his expression was torn between anger and sadness, before he then unleashed a roar of utter pain and sorrow, before rushing at Time Eater.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Toni roared with pure fury, as he unsheathed Excalibur, and swung wildly, slashing through the large debris.

"Please don't leave me, future me..." Younger Richard sobbed. "I can still help you..."

"There's no use mourning his death." Modern Sonic said. "The only way we can avenge Richard is by defeating Eggman, and saving the dimension. Maybe then... We can turn back the clock on Richard's death."

Younger Richard wiped the tears of his face, and put on a determined expression.

"Right." Younger Richard replied with hope. "My future self may be dead, but I can still become him in a few years. If I defeat Eggman, there's still hope in saving him."

However, there was a rainbow glow inside Richard's bag, as the backpack opened up by itself, and the 7 Chaos Emeralds came out of the opening, and then formed a circle around Richard, before they smashed into Richard, forming a ball of light which was flashing the 7 colours of the Chaos Emerald, before the sequence became quicker and quicker, until it then exploded outwards with a huge shockwave.

It was not the process that surprised the group, but what came out of the ball of light. Richard came out of the ball of light, fully healed, and his hair was now golden, with the hair radiating a golden aura. His clothes remain the same, but his Heaven's Will sword changed as well. Instead of the normal sword that comes with a sword-and-shield set, it was now a two-handed sword, which had the hilt of the Gran Centuro sword from Yggdra Union, and the blade was like a giant sword, except the blade is golden with runes flashing in rainbow light inscribed across the entire length of the blade.

"Missed me?" Richard asked, while smirking. "I thought I was done for, but looks like I'm going Super as well. Guess Mimir, regardless of his age was right after all."

Younger Richard was joyful that his future self was revived thanks to the Chaos Emeralds, and then rushed into Richard, tackling him into a hug.

"You're back!" Younger Richard cried in joy. "I thought that you would be dead from that blast!"

"Maybe, but looks like I got a free life from the Chaos Emerald." Richard replied, rubbing the head of Younger Richard, before turning to the three Sonics. "Now how about I return the favour for Eggman, after all, I have him to thank for that attack."

Richard simply dashed away from the group, and caught up with Toni, who was trying to slash Time Eater, but the blows do not connect with the monster, as the dark smoke flies as he slashes.

"Toni! It's me! I'm still alive!" Richard shouted to Toni.

Toni stopped slashing at Time Eater and turned around to see Richard.

"Richard! You're still alive!" Toni said.

"Damn right I am!" Richard boasted. "Now let's show him that two swords will beat everything! You with Excalibur, and me with the new Heaven's Will!"

 _Current Music: Evil Foundry/ Who's Going To Rock The Place (Sonic: The Secret Rings)_

The two heroes boosted away from Time Eater, managing to avoid its sweeping arm, before the two of them boosted towards Time Eater.

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

They launched from the debris, boosting onto one after the other.

Who _is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

The duo made it halfway to the Time Eater, which was now putting all four of its arms into purple portals, and making them slide across the tunnel, to try and swat them, ad the two of them dodged it by moving in the opposite position of the arm. Richard

 _There is no one that can touch this_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _We are forever gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _All together gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _We are forever gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _There is no one that can touch this_

The duo made it closer to the Time Eater, and it began to fire barrage after barrage of homing energy balls, which took the duo more time to dodge, and with more carefulness, they managed to avoid them all, before boosting again to approach the Time Eater.

 _his evil foundry_

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _We are forever gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _All together gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _We are forever gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _All together gonna rock the place_

 _There is no one that can touch this_

They made it into the front of Time Eater, and Toni was about to attack Time Eater again, before Richard raised a hand to stop Toni, before then spreading his arms out, as a golden orb appeared in the front of him, and the Daybreaker from Kid Icarus appeared, and Richard grabbed it before charging it up, where particles of rainbow energy gathered at the edge of the weapon's barrel.

"I only got enough power to summon this weapon, and it won't kill him. But this will sure sting!" Richard said, wielding the weapon. "FIRE!"

Richard fired the weapon off, sending him backwards from the recoil, as a coned beam of white light shot out of the barrel, and damaged Time Eater severely, as all of its arms are broken off from the impact of the beam, and its head was drooping from power failure inside the machine.

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place (place, place)_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

The Daybreaker then disappeared in particles of white light, and Richard equipped Heaven's Will again, before signalling wiht a hand motion to boost and attack the core in an all-out attack.

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _All together gonna rock the place_

 _Who is gonna rock the place_

 _We are forever gonna rock the place_

The duo then raised their swords and then attacked it with a flurry of slashes and swipes, causing crack after crack to appear on the core, before each of the swords glowed golden, as they then slashed through the core, as the song ends.

 _There is no one that can touch this_

The purple core then shattered into piece, and the machine began to spark energy before Time Eater let out a pained and layered roar, before it exploded in a huge ball of light, which engulfed the entire group of heroes.

* * *

 _Current Music: Ending (Sonic Generations)_

Back at the Green Hill Zone, where the party for Sonic was, a lone chilli dog dropped from the skies, and was caught by the hand of Modern Sonic, who then took a bite out of it.

"Time Travel. It's still warm after all the time we spent in that world." Modern Sonic quipped.

Classic Sonic ran to Modern Sonic's side, as the rest of the heroes appeared, all of them now back to normal, and all the Sonic characters reappeared at their respective places before the incident.

"You're not half-bad, Sonic. And so is that kid Richard." Knuckles said.

At that moment, two arms slammed hard into him, sending him right onto a tree and they belonged to Zelda and Amy.

"Half-bad!? Sonic's all great!" Amy yelled, offended.

"And Richard is not that weak! He helped defeat that dark being!" Zelda added.

Knuckles slumped down on the tree, unconsicous from the impact. The party went on as normal for the others, but the Sonics were saying their gooddbyes to each other.

"It was great teaming up with you two. Hope you all learnt a few tricks from me that'll help you in the future, I mean the past. You get what I mean." Modern Sonic said.

Classic Sonic simply ran for a while, before jumping into the air to try a Midair Dash, almost succeed with the wave of energy around hims howing, but then it disappeared, and he fell to the ground. Both Tails came where the Sonics were, and a purple portal leading back to the Green Hill Zone of the past.

"That's our ride." Classic Tails said.

Classic Sonic then looked at Classic Tails, before then turning to Modern Sonic, as they high-fived each other.

"Hey Sonic, enjoy your future! It'll be great!" Modern Sonic shouted, while waving goodbye.

Suddenly another purple portal appeared, this time to Times Square.

"That's my ride." Adventures Sonic said. "Well, see you later, other me."

"Well. I hope that you live well with the other people in the past. See ya!" Modern Sonic responded.

Adventures Sonic then walked to the portal, and before stepping in, he gave Modern Sonic the "victory" sign, before walking in the portal and disappearing.

"Guess that leaves just us, Sonic." Richard said. "But what about my younger self? He needs to go back in time."

Suddenly a blue portal appeared in front of him, and it lead back to the time period where the Younger Richard came from.

"Well, guess this is goodbye then." Younger Richard said. "I may not be able to tell about this, but this adventure will burn in my memories forever. I'll miss you, older me."

"And I'll miss you back, buddy." Richard said, before the two of them hugged each other, and Younger Richard then turned to the portal, and was about to step in it, before Richard shouted "Wait!" and Younger Richard turned.

"What is it, older me?" Younger Richard asked.

"Make sure to do your steps. It'll help you in the future." Richard smirked.

Younger Richard smiled back, before waving goodbye at Sonic and Richard, before walking through the portal, and the portal disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"Well, guess we'll leave you to enjoy your party, Sonic, or should I say, _Modern_ Sonic." Richard quipped.

"Sorry dad, but I have to help Richard save the multiverse. Remember to nuzzle me when I'm born. I liked it ever since I was born." Toni said.

"Well, junior, make sure you make your dad proud by showing off your speed." Modern Sonic replied.

Suddenly, a golden door leading back to the Core appeared, and the rest of the Multiversal Saviours, who were relieved to be back in the living world again, followed them through the door, before the door disappeared in a golden flash.

 _'Maybe some humans and beings are even stronger than me... But I won't give up my rank as fastest so easily... Look out, multiverse! Toni, the heir of Sonic's title, is going to speed past all you different beings!'_ Toni thought as he passed the door.

 **WORLD COMPLETE!**

 **20000 Multiversal Essence is earned from completion**

 **Skill "Run Like Sonic" is forgotten.**

 **New Richard Ability: Super Form**

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in the deepest reaches of the Multiverse..._

A lone figure was watching the Multiversal Saviours walk through the door back to the Core, using a portal to make a makeshift mirror to watch their movement.

"Hmmmm... Interesting." [REDACTED] commented, with a calm and gentleman-like voice. "It seems that this boy is getting strong indeed. He even defeated the Time Eater that I powered up myself. After all, I am [REDACTED], the one who craves nothingness, and my power is not to be underestimated."

The figure then did a heel-turn and with a swipe of his hand, the portal mirror was turned off, and the portal shrank into nothing.

"But this boy is a stubborn thorn to my side, although he is too weak to fight any of my generals and lords. If left unchecked, he'll eventually surpass the generals and lords of my army, and eventually me. I may have let him have his way two worlds ago, but I am now beginning to be weary of his power." [REDACTED] fumed. "After all, the Creator is too busy protecting the Core to save the other worlds, and the Destroyer is still in eternal slumber from the time I last checked. The entire multiverse will return back to nothingness eventually, and I'm only speeding up the process. Now, my subordiantes, what do you have to say?"

There was all kinds of sonds, some gargling, some roaring, some speaking, but it was causing the whole area to be filled with noise, and the figure raised a hand, and silence took over the area.

"Good. You all are still loyal." [REDACTED] complimented his army. "From now on, I will not make the mistake of dropping my guard again, and increase the amount of Darkness on the world. Let's see if the Chosen One, Richard Liu, is up for a challenge. He will lose, and be consumed by the nothingness, as will the Creator."

The figure then let out a long and evil laugh.

"This multiverse deserves to die. And I shall herald its end!" [REDACTED] cackled.


	12. Chapter X-2: Meeting Fuxi

Chapter X-2: Welcoming Fuxi, and falling into Hell?

* * *

When the group of heroes returned to the Core, they were greeted by Vai, who suddenly popped out of Richard's pant pocket, and he saw that she was fluttering around.

"That wasn't nice, Richard! I had to stay in there at your pocket, while you get all the fun." Vai fumed, flying back and forth in front of Richard's face.

Richard just simply lightly rubbed the ball of light, that is his multiversal fairy, and Vai slowed down.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't aford to get you hurt. You may be strong, but not strong enough to take what's in the world..." Richard apologized.

"Aw... Looks like I went overboard about this... I did want to come out, but if you are trying to protect me, there's good reason behind it." Vai said, losing all her anger, as she understood that she shouldn't be ranting at her friend.

Meanwhile, the Creator appeared in a flash of white light in the centre of the Core, and then gazed upon the group.

"It seems that you have new allies, Richard. I'm pleased that there's more people to fight for our cause." The Creator complimented Richard.

Richard blushed, being rarely complimented in real life, and rubbed the back of his head to ease his sparking emotions.

"Please, you're the better one. After all, you're the one who made me what I am." Richard replied, not wanting to take the praise for just himself. "And Toni mostly helped me take down Eggman, although he was powered by the Darkness."

The Creator smiled, assured that Richard is not quite arrogant, and gives praise to those who deserve it.

"But the reason I came here, is not to just congratulate you. After you gained your Super Form from the Chaos Emerald, you got more powerful, and you gained the ability to be able to obtain and store more Personas." The Creator said. "And that's why I present to you a new Persona."

"Jeez, Creator, but I'm already overpowered with Ares and Mimir. Speaking of which, I should summon them. They never seen you." Richard said, before summoning the two in their respective pilliars of light.

Ares was whistling loudly and teasingly, liking the Creator's look, while Mimir's expression remained expressionless, as he has no opinion towards women.

"Looks you reeled one in, kiddo." Ares teased. "Where did you get that beaut? The Creator isn't one for any of you mortals."

Richard frowned, and replied. "She's not my girlfriend, Ares. You're jumping to conclusions."

"Precisely." Mimir added, before putting out a hand. "And I like to shake hands with the one who created me in this multiverse, and show that my loyalty remains with you and Richard."

The Creator took the hand, and shook it lightly, while looking at Richard. "You seem to be in good conditions with them, Richard. But then again, Ares has a big heart hidden inside his reckless personality. But still, you'll need them eventually, as there are some things that Ares or Mimir don't have." She said. "He's almost here, and he may be someone who will astonish you."

Suddenly, a green pillar of light appeared next to the Creator, and it vanished with green sparkles of light to show another Persona, although this time, he doesn't bear Richard's look, although he looks like the same age as Richard. Instead, he has a more serious expression on his face, and his appearance is more Chinese, since he bears slanted eyes and his skin bears a more darker tone than Richard's and his hair is long and green, and his hair is styled to look more natural, being straight like Richard's, but the hair is longer at the back of his head, and the hair ends with a rat's tail. He is clad in ancient Chinese armour, having a glistening armour that is shaped out of jade, as if he was a revered god, and he wears green medieval hunter boots. His facial expression turned sympathetic when the Persona looked upon Richard.

"这就是你说的宇宙英雄吗,创世者？" The unknown boy said in perfect Chinese. (This is the universal hero you were talking about, Creator?）

Richard was surprised at the language that the boy used, and replied in his best Chinese, "你...你会说华语...？" （You... You can speak Chinese?)

"的确是对的. 但是你看起来像一个懦夫." The Unknown boy replied. (That is correct, but you look like a weakling.)

"不, 我只是没出实力而已。" Richard said. (No, It's just I haven't showed my true potential.)

"原来如此." The boy said, before reaching out a hand to shake. "我就是伏羲.就是盘古创造的第一个人." (I see. I am Fuxi, and the first Human that was created by Pan Gu.)

"我知道." Richard replied, shaking the hand warmly,and giving him a respectful smile. "我觉得你肯定成了这个多重宇宙神之一." （I know. I know that you must be one of the Multiversal True Gods.）

Fuxi just smiled at this, and then gazed upon Mimir and Ares

"It seems that you two are gods as well." Fuxi commented, speaking in English as well as he did in Chinese.

"You seem to be... complex" Mimir said, the pause because he was trying to find a word to best describe his thoughts about Fuxi.

"Eh." Ares shrugged. "It's a living, Fuxi. After all, I'm Greek in the real world, Mimir is an Norse deity, and you're one of the Chinese Deities."

"Ah." Fuxi said. "Then I do hope that we get along well."

Fuxi then turned to Richard. "那该要进你的思想空间." (Looks likes it's time to go into your mindscape.)

"是的." (Yes.) Richard said, before summoning back Fuxi, and the rest of the Personas. into his mindscape. After a while, The three personas appeared inside Richard's mindscape, which was a black scape that contains doors of various colours, indicating the different parts of his brains. There was even a rainbow door that has a golden sign that reads "Imagination and Creativity."

"你的思想空间看起来挺有趣." Fuxi said inside Richard's head. "难怪你的神朋友在这里不无聊." (Your Mindscape looks quite interesting. No wonder your godly friends aren't bored in here.)

"Yep." Ares said with a smirk. "There's lots of things to do here. We could do almost anything in here while Richard deals with the outside world. By the way, you never did say which trait you represent. I represent bravery and strength, and Mimy here represented wisdom, and smarts."

Suddenly, Richard heard a hollow bonk sound that was more like a coconut landing on someone's head, and he heard Ares swear a few curses.

"Jesus! What was that for, Mimir?" Ares asked.

"Call me by my full name, please. I don't want to keep dropping rocks on your head to remind you that you're being rude." Mimir said in a annoyed tone.

"Ugh..." Ares said, while he rubbed his head where the rock hit him.

Fuxi smiled at watching all this happening. _'Maybe this journey with the boy may be interesting.'_

Richard then walked over to where the Shopkeeper was, and when she saw Richard, she leaned onto the table, and put her head onto one of her arms.

"So Richard, what would you like to buy?" The Shopkeeper asked in a aroused voice.

"Don't know yet." Richard stated. "You still have the list of products?"

"Oh yes. I still have the list." The Shopkeeper replied, before handing Richard the menu of the shop.

 **Upgrades:**

 **Summon Power+ Lvl 2: 2500 Essence**

 **This perk will increase the duration and strength of summons by 60%, useful in fights with multiple summons.**

 **Summon Defence+ Lvl 2: 2500 Essence**

 **This perk will increase the vitality and defence of summons by 60%, useful when summons are alone in battle.**

 **Revival Counter+ Lvl 2: 5000 Essence**

 **Increases the limit that Richard can revive before he fails the mission. Next Level: 7 revives**

 **Super Form Duration+ Lvl 1: 5000 Essence**

 **Increases the Duration of Richard's Super Form ability by 20%**

 **Parameters Increase+ Lvl 1: 5000 Essence**

 **Increases all stat parameters of Richard by 10%**

 **Limit Break: 5000 Essence**

 **This upgrade will unlock the use of Limit Break, a bar that when full will allow the person to unleash a single Ultimate Attack of their choice.**

 **Examples**

 **Link: Triforce Slash**

 **Zelda: Final Light Arrow**

 **Impa: Quick Draw of Fate**

 **Lana: Elemental Devastation**

 **Richard: Daybreaker, ?**

 **Tag System: 5000 Essence**

 **This upgrade will allow 2 people to unleash a barrage of attacks simultaneously, and may even trigger the use of a special combination attack if requirements are met.**

 **Current Tag Specials/ Hints:**

 **?- Lana and Richard**

 **?- Richard (Super Form) and Toni (Excalibur)**

 **Ablities:**

 **Attacker Aura: 2000 Essence**

 **A spell that can used to boost the power of all attacks, magical or physical, by 200%. The duration of the buff is 5 minutes, and has a cool-down of 15 minutes.**

 **Magical Barrier: 5000 Essence**

 **Negates a single magic attack, regardless of strength. The cooldown is 30 minutes.**

 **Healing Studies: 10000 Essence**

 **This ability will allow the use of healing skills for the person, provided the person has enough mana to use it, and mastered it.**

Richard was stunned at the upgrades on the list. Not only that he can gain the power to make devastating attacks, but he can also do a tag attack, just like in Kingdom Hearts. Richard immediately bought out the two upgrades, and bought the Parameter Increase, and Summon Power+ and Summon Defence+, leaving him with some Multiversal Essence.

 **ITEMS PURCHASED!**

 **REMAINING ESSENCE: 5000**

 **THANK YOU FOR BUYING AT THE ESSENCE SHOP!**

"Come again some time soon, cutie~" The Shopkeeper cooed.

Richard then left the shop, and went to where the Creator was.

"So, is there any changes to what is happening?" Richard asked.

"No other worlds are being invaded other than the ones I already listed." The Creator stated. "I think it's time to pick another world."

"Right." Richard said, and turned around to head to the set of doors that are leading the worlds attacked by the Darkness, when suddenly, a blood-red portal appeared under his feet. Richard was surprised, and tried to move, but the portal was slowly sucking him in like quicksand.

"Uh, Creator?" Richard asked, with a hint of fear. "Is this portal yours?"

He then suddenly felt something grab each of his legs, and when he looked down, he saw that rotted arms were dragging him down. The Creator then saw Richard, and wore a frightened expression as she rushed over to Richard's side. She then pulled Richard, trying to pull him out.

"I think I'll take that as a no." Richard said, saying it in the wrong time.

"Of course not!" The Creator huffed, while straining to pull Richard up. "That's one of the portals that the Darkness use! And there's only one person in that faction who could do this in my home realm..."

Suddenly more hands began to latch onto Richard, and Richard was going down faster. The Creator was trying harder to pull Richard up, but Richard saw that she will be pulled in if she doesn't let go.

"Creator! Stop pulling me up!" Richard exclaimed, not liking what he has to do. "If you don't let go, you'll be pulled in as well!"

"But I can't abandon you, not when the Darkness is going to send you away." Creator yelled back, determined to save Richard.

"Please... Just let me go." Richard pleaded. "I'll find a way out of this world. Tell the others not to go after me until they are absolutely certain where I am."

The Creator tried to pull Richard up as he was persuading her to let him go, and eventually, the Creator gave in, and then let him sink to the bottom, before saying something to Richard.

"Be safe." The Creator said. "We'll find you, and rescue you from whatever hell that HE sent you to."

That were the last words Richard heard before he fell into the portal, and into complete darkness.

 _WARNING! WARNING! NX Worlds: Dreams of a Multiverse starts here!_

* * *

Update A/N: Hate to remove this section, but I have just made a crossover with Epic Networks, where the two protagonists of the two stories meet within a original world. Don't worry, though, the story will continue developing, just that this chapter is cut short. However, be ready, as you must read the crossover in order to get to the next chapter of this story.

Update A/N 2: The crossover story stated above is currently dead, until I decide that I get my priorities straightened up. For now, I'm only focusing on this story for now.


	13. Chapter S-1: Pony Island

When Richard regained consciousness, he found himself lying on a concrete floor.

 _"Deja vu feeling from that last adventure..."_ Richard thought. _"Damn... Never knew that I would have to do the floor stand cliche again."_

He then got up, and looked around at his surroundings. He saw that the entire area was illuminated by a large ray of yellow light, and beyond the light was pitch black darkness, and he saw a wooden table, that had a 90s PC, complete with the hard drive system and covered by a few cobwebs, was on the table, with a keyboard and mouse in front of it. In front of the table was a wooden chair, which was about the same size as the chairs made for adults.

 _"Where am I?"_ Richard thought. _"And why do I have a feeling that this place is familiar?"_

Richard then approached the table, and sat down on the wooden chair, after pulling it out.

 _"Maybe activating this computer would give me some answers."_

Richard then pressed the power button on the hard drive, and the computer roared to life, as the old fans in the system strained to work, after years of inactivity, and the monitor flickered on, as the computer was powering up. After the computer was fixed, a white star was being drawn in the centre of the screen, with blips sounding at every stroke created, and it finished to show the white outline of a star, before the outline will filled with white, and the words "Systemtech Incorporated" appeared under the star.

 _"What!? That name...! Don't tell me that wherever I'm in, it's-"_

Richard's thoughts were finished as a title appeared on the screen.

 **PONY ISLAND**

The title stood out in large and bold white letters, with a head of a pony bearing a short horn on its head, at each side of the title. There were three options in the main menu, all standing out in white letters, which are named "START GAME", "OPTIONS & HELP" and "CREDITS". There was even a copyright mark on the bottom of the screen that says "SYSTEMTECH INCORPORATED 1992".

Richard screamed at what he saw, as he knew which world he was in, and he was actually very afraid about the world, considering what he saw about it as a game. Richard was hyperventilating, before he was screaming "NO!" over again and again, while banging the table with his fists on the top. Richard soon got tired, and was panting rapidly.

 _'Pull yourself together!"_ Richard mentally shouted at himself. _'You're a goddamn hero! You know where you are, and you know what to do in here! You won't end up as poor Theodore, and you will get out yourself, or the Creator will rescue you. All you just need to do is clear the game, and save the souls in this digital Hell!"_

Richard calmed himself down, bringing his breathing back to normal. He then went back onto the computer, and clicked the options button, and he was soon directed to a list of options. He looked around for useful options, and found two. The "Free Ticket" option and the "Fix Start Button" option. Richard clicked on the "Free Ticket" option, and then he heard a whirring noise that came from the primitive hard drive, and a old admission ticket with the titular pony's head on it, and the words "Pony Island" printed on it, was ejected from the disk slot, and Richard took it.

 _'If I remember this correctly, getting all the tickets will trigger a secret scene for this game.'_ Richard thought, recalling all playthroughs of the game world he was in. _'It may be that I might fight Hopelesssoul, but maybe in reality, the tickets might do something better. I best find them all.'_

Richard then clicked the "Fix Start Menu" option, and it was activated, but the "Back" button also dropped from its original position onto the bottom of the screen. Richard clicked his tongue in a annoyed manner, and dragged the dislocated option back, and then pressing it to head back to the main menu. Richard the saw that the pony head were now crying, with a single solitary streak of black tears leaking from the visible eye.

Richard knew what this meant, but still went into the credits screen, where a credits containing all kinds of historic tyrants scrolled down the screen, and at the end, the very corporation that made this game was actually "Satantech Incorporated". Richard shrugged. He then proceeded to press the "Start" option, which was now green, and suddenly, the screen glitched, as in place of the option, a circle of blue and red particles appeared, with coding swirling inside the circle of particles. Richard dubbed this portal as a "Code Portal", a portal that allows access to the game's inner code.

Richard clicked the portal, and was directed to a area where streams of coding, with all kinds of functions and commands written, were flowing down in columns, and a few lines of code, with a white key, a box with a key shaped hole, a flashing blue box, and a green box with a arrow of the same colour pointing down. Richard dubbed the key as the "Code Activation Key", a important part of the coding puzzle, which has to be directed to the box with the key-hole, which was named the "Code Source". The flashing blue box was identified as the "Code Slot", a location where any code box can be inserted, and the only code box in question was the green box, which was dubbed the "Continue" code box. Richard scoffed at how easy this puzzle was, and dragged the "Continue" code box into the "Code Slot", and the key fell down in the "Code Source", activating the coding, and sending Richard to the loading screen of the game.

The bar worked for a while, before it was stopped mid-process by another Code Portal, which was halting the advance of the loading bar. After Richard clicked inside the portal, the layout of the puzzle was similar to the one before, except the box was now filled with a red box with a circling arrow in it, which was the "Loop" Code box. Richard facepalmed at this, while internally laughing at how inferior these puzzles are, and dragged the "Loop" code box out of the slot, and swapped it with the "Continue" code box. The key went back to action, and landing into the "Code Source", and the bar resumed.

" **You just had to fix it, didn't you?** " A annoyed male voice boomed across the room.

Richard shivered when he heard the voice boom across the room, and the words being typed on the top of the loading screen at the same time in glowing blue and red capital letters.

" **It was going to work! I tested 1000 times!** " The voice said. " **Well. It's almost time to play.** "

The loading bar was filled completely, the words "Loading Complete appeared under the bar."

 **"Welcome to Pony Island.** " The voice stated, with slight malice in his tone.

Background music began to play in the background, as the game loaded, switching between shades of grey as the screen brightened up, and the game immediately went into action, as the pony on the left began to move. It had the same pony head that was in the title, and its rectangular legs were moving in a primitive animation, switching from two positions back and forth. The background was made from white hills that were drawn from visible pixels, and the floor was white. A white bar appeared below the floor, with a white arrow to indicate the pony's location. Richard played the game, using the mouse to make the pony jump over white a few seconds of running and jumping, the pony reached a flagpost like the ones in Super Mario Bros, and the screen immediately went from the HUD to the results screen, with a bar indicating the pony's level, and it rose from Level 50 very quickly, without any signs on stopping. The entire area was surrounded by surprising words, like "Holy S#! " and "Wow!". Richard paid no attention to the growing level bar, and pressed the "continue" option.

The second level was like the first level, albeit having more gates, and it was passed without any trouble. The results screen was different however, as the area was now filled with even more words, even having the words "360 No-scope". When Richard saw that text, Richard looked at the metaphoric "screen", and nodded once in respect as black pixel sunglasses fell from the sky to the front of his eyes, with the word "EUPHORIA!" appearing in stone letters.

"Dayum, son!" Richard cooed, with crossed arms.

Suddenly, the stone text and the sunglasses disappeared, and Richard found a Code Portal that was hidden behind all the text, and solved the puzzle in it, although the number of code boxs and slots was much more than the last one he did. When he was done, another ticket was dispensed out of the disk slot of the hard drive, and Richard took the ticket. He then pressed the continue button, and was guided to a screen with this message:

 **Experience the rest of Pony Island!**

 **Insert your soul to continue**

Richard did a thinking pose, "Hmm... How should I put this...?" He said, before taking off the thinking pose, and flipping "the finger" to the screen.

"Absolutely no. How about another bird to prove the point?" Richard commented, before using his other hand to make another "the finger".

Richard then went into the code portal that was at the bottom of the screen, and then noticed a new type of code box, which was orange with a arrow pointing sideways. Richard dubbed this code box as the "Direct" box, which moved the key to whichever side it was pointing to. Richard then solved the puzzle, by putting a "Direct Arrow" to move the key to the next column, and a "Continue" to finish the key's journey. When the key was linked with the source, the game crashed and glitched, until a devolved version of the Window Stopped Working message appeared on the screen.

Richard closed the message, and then moved the game, which was actually a window, and saw the desktop, which contained many files. Richard recognised a few of the files, pressing the ticket programs in order to gain a ticket. Richard then went into Pony Galaxy, which had the pony from the Pony Island Game, and the enemies were horned masks. Being a shooter, Richard crushed the high score of the game, and gained another ticket to his joy. Richard then opened the " " file, which had a background of ever-changing binary numbers, with white letters showing the text:

I have been trapped in this "game" for what feels like a eternity.

Endless Playing

Endless Testing

 _Help me_

 _I am Level 181082_

After the third line, the text was so distorted and twisted that Richard had taken some times to try and read them. Richard then closed the page, and opened the messenger, which had a few messages (A/N: I will be combining the two different rooms in this written version.):

H0peLes$S0ul: What was that?

H0peLes$S0ul: Hello?

H0peLes$S0ul: Hello?

H0peLes$S0ul: Can you see this now?

H0peLes$S0ul: Please respond!

H0peLes$S0ul: Hello?

Guest (Richard): I got you.

H0peLes$S0ul: My prayers been answered.

Guest: Before you say anything, I know. Destroy the three CORE files, and we'll be home free, no?

H0peLes$S0ul: How did you-

Guest: That's not important. I'm also trapped here, but I know how to save you. After all, you're trapped here by the game, and if I get all the tickets, then there might be a chance that I could save you too.

H0peLes$S0ul: But what about-

Guest: Already know. Those daemons are pathetic compared to me. I may be defenseless, but if they intend to fight me in cyber warfare, then Lucifer will be quite disappointed. In fact... HE'S NEXT AFTER I GET MY STUFF BACK.

H0peLes$S0ul: ...Who are you?

Guest: I can't tell you my name yet, but I can tell you that I'm one of the good guys that protect the universe.

H0peLes$S0ul: I see.

1U iF#r: Hello again.

Guest: Lucifer. Ain't that a goddamn surprise.

1U iF#r: I got to admit, you're quite smart and clever to have hacked your way out of Pony Island. I know who are, boy. And I assure you, you won't be leaving any time soon. Unless you give me your soul ;)

Guest: Go to hell.

1U iF#r: Already there. You think Pony Island is so terrible, due to the positive feedback of mundane jumping tasks testing your patience.

1U iF#r: It was so terrible that you had to escape.

1U iF#r: You JUST had to.

Guest: So, then what are you going to do? Hack me? Oh, i'm so scared that the great Lucifer will hack my mouse.

1U iF#r: You would be so kind to shut up, before I make your fate worser.

Guest: Actually, I think it's YOU who needs to shut it. I know that you're with the Darkness. Once I get the Creator on your ass, you'll wish that you never held me here.

1U iF#r: The Darkness? Hahahahahaha. That's a good joke. I don't know who they are. All I know that you're just a little lamb in my paddock of pain.

Guest: We'll see...

H0peLes$S0ul: Who's talking to you?

Guest: Lucifer. Be prepared, he may cut the communications between the two of us. Make sure you got the portals ready. We'll need them to cut through Pony Island and escape.

H0peLes$S0ul: Understood. I'm ready if he cuts the messages.

1U iF#r: WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO!?

Guest: None of your fucking business! If you want to know, then go suck my balls!

1U iF#r: Arrogant wench... I made changes to Pony Island. We'll see who's the fool here. You're mine, and now, say yes master.

Guest: FUCK- YOU-!

1U iF#r: What!? How did you break the hack on the text? Nonetheless, your mouse is mine. Welcome back to Pony Island.

Conversation end.

Richard's cursor was being dragged to the Pony Island app, and automatically clicked into the game. Richard felt satisfied that he annoyed Lucifer, but now, he'll have to find a way to get out of the 'new' Pony Island. The loading sequence still had the white star being drawn, except there were flashes of the screen showing in place of the star, a red pentagram, and although hard to see, the words "Satan" and "System" were put in the same spot. The main menu was also different, with the 'Credits" option being replaced with "####", and the "Options" sign was now red and upside down. The pony heads on the title were now crying more profusely, with larger tears falling down the stream of black, and they bear three horns instead of one. Richard clicked the left head, and its jaw opened to show a secret code portal. The code portal was different, as there were black areas of corruption, which would act as a gap. Richard used the "Direct" and "Continue" code boxs to help guide the key down to the source, and another ticket was earned.

Richard then clicked the corrupted "####" option, and the screen changed to a sea of white 0s on the top half of the screen, with a devils face painted among it, and some text appeared in the bottom half.

"ENTER THE PASSWORD MORTAL." The text read.

Richard forgotten the password to this cave, and typed "BACK" to exit the cave of code. Richard tried clicking the "Options", but it did not respond.

Richard clicked the "Start Game" option, and he was immediately teleported to the game without a loading screen. Just when the game started, except now having a life counter of 3 next to the progress bar , before the same voice from before boomed.

" **You thought this was too easy.** " The voice boomed.

Suddenly, the same devil heads from Pony Galaxy appeared on the screen, and were circling around the pony.

" **What do you think now?** " The voice gloated, as if he won.

Richard knew that he had no way to rid the heads yet, so the heads rushed into the pony, killing it three times, before Richard was taken to the game's Game Over screen, which had the words "YOU LOSE" in blue and red letters, and Lucifer's symbol in the background. The foreground had the pony's head being impaled through a pike.

" **My game is challenging but fair.** " The voice taunted. " **Come back when your skills improve, or…. You can just give up and surrender your soul. Hehehehe….** "

Richard was enraged by this, and turned around.

"How about you shut the fuck up, and watch me beat your stupid game!" Richard roared to the sky.

Richard then turned back to the screen, and clicked the back button, and saw that the "Options" button was back to normal, and clicked it, to be led to the same options menu as before, except, in the background, laid a grey outline of the words "Advanced Options". Richard knew how to access that option, by clicking both "Advanced RNG" and "Obscure Options, both of which shattering into single words that fell to the bottom of the screen, and Richard dragged the words of the options to the outline, completing the option.

Richard clicked on it, and was taken to a list of three options, "Advanced Audio", "Advanced Gameplay" and "Security Options". Richard clicked the "Advanced Audio" option, leading him to a area with many sliders, and a beating heart on the top of the screen. Richard tried each of the sliders, which seemingly changed the beat of the heart, until Richard figured out the puzzle here, and turned any horrific sounds up, which lead the heart to beat at unnatural speeds, before exploding into pixel gore, and the screen glitched to show another "Print Ticket" option, which gave Richard another ticket.

Richard clicked out of the option, and moved onto "Advanced Gameplay", which was empty, except for a line of code in the bottom of the screen, and hidden in it was a small option named "Old Prototype Options". Richard was then directed to a area with a mix of options, with some corrupted areas with blue and red pixels sparking out of them. Richard knew all options there were all useless, even the "Free Will" option that tempted Richard to press, and found a button that took him to a area where the Advanced options were all upside down, and Richard pressed one of the upside down option, only to be led back to the normal Advanced Options Menu.

Richard face-palmed at the fact he fell for this simple trick. Richard then moved onto Security Options, and closed all dropdown options to find "Password Info", and clicked it to be directed to a page with a picture of a skinny priest whose legs are crossed into lotus position, with both arms and hands forming a religious pose, and the name "Baphomet" is written in blue capitals. Richard then realised that the name is the password to the cave, and he moved back to the cave option, and typed the name in.

"CORRECT." The code devil said. "BEHOLD…."

Richard's vision faded back to white, and he was in a very dark hall with chandeliers with candles burning with purple flames, swaying from the ceiling, and the floor was all dark purple, with a look of stone, and from the darkness, Richard saw a figure in the end of the hall.

"NOW YOU MAY ASK A SINGLE QUESTION. SPEAK." The code devil commanded.

Richard then typed this: "Who was that figure?"

"YOUR TRUE ENEMY. HE IS THE ONE THAT LEADS THE DARKNESS TO BRING THE UNIVERSE TO NOTHINGNESS. HE HAS NO TRUE NAME, SO YOU WILL NOT KNOW WHO HE IS UNTIL YOU TWO MEET IN A FATED ENCOUNTER." The code devil explained. "THAT IS ALL FOR NOW. MEET AGAIN, AND I SHALL ANSWER YOU WITH ANOTHER VISION AND QUESTION."

Richard typed "BACK". Richard then head back to the upside-down Advanced Options, and clicked another option on the top, which led to a screen where "Pony Salvation Options", was in the bottom of the screen, illuminated from the black background by a ray of yellow light. Richard smiled at this, and clicked the options, and heavenly music played, as he was transferred to a mural, where there were ancient pictures of holy priests pointing at the option "Pony Lasers", and there was a man below the option, arms raised as if he was giving the option, and ponies were on the bottom of the mural.

"Looks like it's time to even the odds." Richard said, as he clicked the option.

But instead of activating the option, the mural actually shrunk, and moved to get away from the mouse, and the voice acted up again.

" **Cheater! Cheater! I will not let you cheat in my game!"** The voice taunted as Richard tried to click the option, only to make the mural smaller.

Richard kept on trying to click the option, only for it to leave, until a Code Portal appeared on the edges of the screen. Richard entered it, solved the puzzle inside, which caused the mural to grow back in size, although not big enough to allow Richard to click the option. This process continued to repeat, the puzzles getting harder as Richard solved them, and finally returned the mural back to full size, allowing Richard to press the option, and the moment Richard pressed it, the option changed to a illustrative instruction, indicating Richard to use the right mouse button to fire, and when Richard held it, one of the ponies' mouth opened to let out a beam of black energy, with coding swarming inside the beam, and Richard rolled it around to destroy the pictures of the mural. After "cleaning" the mural, Richard was directed back to the screen.

" **Go back in and turn that off. You can't play with that.** " The voice ordered.

"Nope! Your fault making me look stupid!" Richard gloated.

Richard started the game, and used the laser to destroy any heads that tried to end his character's life, and Richard eventually reached the end of the stages, after killing a lot of devil heads, and the pony walked across the dark black background.

" **YOU CHEATED** " The voice articulated with rage, before the pony's head popped off with a stream of gore, and the screen turned blank, before a devil's head went for the screen, before causing the screen to explode with all kinds of hateful words, including "He must pay." and "HATE HATE HATE.". Richard clenched his head as a splitting pain dug into his head. After a while, the screen flashed with screens of static, before the pain stopped, and the hard drive was smoking. Richard rubbed his still hurting head.

' _God... That fucking smarts more than I thought it would!_ " Richard thought, while hissing.

A voice boomed across the room, but this time, it sounded like a early teen-boy, who had determination in his voice, and the text on the screen subtitled his words in a light blue shade, having the normal share of capitals and lower letters.

"I made it!" The voice exclaimed. "It seems Lucifer is distracted. Now's our chance to destroy the Core File."

The screen showed a larger Code Portal, and when Richard clicked on it, the computer was directed to a screen filled with gray, and having a smudged pentagram, which has the Core File deleter program in the middle of it. On the right side of the screen was a rectangular cage, the bars made out of binary coding, and the area inside shaded gray, making access to the area impossible. There were a lock on each of the corners, and they are also linked to chains of black. Inside the cage was the Daemon Program, ,which had the demon's very face sleeping, but Richard knew that he was actually fully awake.

"There it is! The Core file deleter!" The voice shouted. "And then there's the Daemon in that cage... But he should be locked-"

"Hopelesssoul, I don't think that program is real. I think this wouldn't be so easy." Richard replied.

"Then what do we do then?" Hopelesssoul asked.

"Simple." Richard replied, bringing his cursor to the Core File Deleter program. "Spring the trap, and defeat the Daemon."

Richard clicked the program, and suddenly, but not surprisingly to Richard, the screen glitched to show that he clicked , which had the demon's very face and the Delete program is in the binary cage.

"I see..." Hopelesssoul said. "Then please come back alive... I'm rooting for you..."

The program switched to its awake form, and a whining sound was heard as the command bar showed that the program was being activated. And suddenly, a second cursor, in the shape of a demonic hand pointing appeared on the screen, and it suddenly moved to the keyboard above Azazel, typing a message.

"GREETINGS MORTAL. I WAS CREATED TO GUARD THIS CORE FILE. DID YOU REALLY THINK THIS WOULD BE EASY?" Azazel taunted.

Richard shrugged, before the screen glitched again, and another exe file appeared on the opposite side of the screen, except it was someone Richard knew, having the name "Ares exe", and having a Roman gladiator's face with its copper helmet on the face of the program. It also came with another cursor, with the shape of a broadsword, and a message appeared below the program, being typed instead of clicked.

"Thank god I made it in time." The program said. "You okay there, Richard?"

"Ares!?" Richard exclaimed. "Why are you a program!?"

"Blame shithead Lucifer. The reason you haven't heard us, is because while you were unconscious, he tried to expel the lot of us. Unfortunately, as True Gods, we don't go down easily, so he had no choice, but to turn us into programs." Ares replied.

"HO? ANOTHER ENEMY? IT MATTERS NOT. I WILL NOT FAIL MY MASTER." Azazel said.

"You can try, goatface." Ares retorted.

Richard then proceeded to press a lock on the code cage, and a Code Portal appeared, showing the usual puzzle. Unfortunately Azazel could also interfere, by dragging Code Boxes out of the slot, or moving them to another slot. Ares also helped, by fixing the boxes to their needed positions, and the puzzle was solved in a instant, and the lock disappeared.

"CHILD'S PLAY. YOU WILL NOT BREAK ANOTHER." Azazel said.

Richard warped into another code puzzle, but this time, it would fully lock out any changes to the code after all slots are filled, and Richard could only get a new code box one at a time, the rest being covered by the grey inhibition areas. It took a few tries to complete the code with Azazel's interference and Are's help, and the lock broke.

"I AM THE GREATER MIND. YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME BY LUCK." Azazel said.

Richard then proceeded to move to the next puzzle, before completing that one with slightly more ease, due to the puzzle being more complicated.

"Ares, tell me, after we delete that CORE file, will you die as well." Richard asked, worried about what is going to happen.

"Pshaw. Like I die easily. I'll just be free to go back in your mindscape." Ares replied. "Don't worry about me. Even if I die here, I'm taking goatie with me."

"I see... Be well to keep that promise..." Richard said, still worried.

"WE ARE PROGRAMS. YOU, ARES WILL NOT ESCAPE THIS SYSTEM." Azazel said.

Richard then proceeded to the final lock, which had slots that would be locked for selection when a code box is inserted into them, and the puzzle took many tries, frustrating both Richard and Ares, but they finally defeated the last lock, and rid the code cage surrounding the program, and the inhibitor area in front of it.

"YOUR PROPHET IS FALSE! DO NOT OBEY! DO NOT OBEY!" Azazel exclaimed.

"Finish him, Richard. I'm tired to listen to this old bag of farts nag on about fate and all kinds of shit." Ares said.

Richard then activated the program, and Ares managed to click the confirm button with the sword-cursor, before Azazel could even try to close to close the confirmation window with his cursor, and a command box appeared to show the validation of the deletion of the CORE program. The program began to flicker and glitch.

"We did it! 2 to go, Richard, keep it up!" Hopelesssoul cheered.

Richard smiled at this, but the smile faded when he saw Azazel's dying message.

"YOU MAY BE SMART, BUT THE OTHER DAEMONS WILL END YOU, BOY. GIVE UP AND SUFFER LIKE YOU SHOULD. HA HA HA." Azazel taunted.

The program began to break apart, as the screen was slowly cover top to bottom like a black waterfall, and then after the screen is all gone, there was a mix of whirring and coughing from the hard drive, and then the system restarted itself, powering back on without any action. Richard was worried that Ares would be dead as well, but then he heard a voice in his head.

' _Miss me?'_ Ares teased inside Richard's head. ' _I told you that I don't die that easily."_

' _Thank god...'_ Richard said, relieved.

The two of them then relaxed, waiting for the next trial to appear.

* * *

A/N: This is a in-between chapter about Pony Island, which is one of the best Indie games I ever watched and played. I did my best to mirror the gameplay to Richard's actions, so sorry if this came out rough. And important news: I may have to put a hiatus to this story due to lots of exams coming up. You'll still have me making stories, but don't be expecting a update so soon. See you all.

P.S: There will be no 'Next Chapter' sections until we get to the main arcs. Speaking of which, the next arc voted is Starfox Assault.


	14. Chapter S-2: Moving onto the next CORE

X-Over Multiverse ZX Chapter S-2: Moving onto the next CORE file…..

A/N: Once again, I do not own anything here, except for Ares and Mimir.

S stands for side story, or in my case, intermission

* * *

As Richard finished off Azazel Exe with the help of Ares, who was turned into a program when they were separated, the old PC went back to its startup screen showing off all starting procedures, with the pentagram symbol of SatanTech Incorporated on it.

"Speaking of which, Ares, where is Mimir and Fuxi? I couldn't even sense you guys in the mindscape." Richard asked.

Ares sighed deeply inside Richard's mind.

" _Well, that's the thing. They're converted into programs like me. The story was that, after we fell into another portal after we stopped both Jace's and your history from being rewritten by Noir and the Darkness, some unknown force pried us from your head, and I fell unconscious, just before I saw Mimir and Fuxi do the same_." Ares mentally explained, with a bit of an apologetic tone.

" _When I awoke, I was separated from them, and I was in some sort of digital limbo, and worse, I felt like my body was all blocky. After waddling with the lack of legs, I managed to reach a reflective surface, and I came to see what I became. A program. When I realized it, it crashed down on me like a fucking ton of bricks. It sucked to the maximum degree, to say the least_."

" _It was painful to even try to move faster than my snail-like waddling. However, when I was there, I also managed to find a way to use glitches to teleport, and they succeeded. I even managed to create a "cursor" of some sort to help. The reason why I managed to find you, was because I saw the same portal you encountered multiple times during your attempts to escape this place, and I jumped through it, and that's how I popped on the screen."_

" _After we defeated him, and you deleted the CORE file, I was beginning to disintegrate, but however, it was only my program body that was being destroyed, thus freeing my soul. And that's how I'm here with you in the mindscape_."

"I see." Richard replied. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you in any other way. And thanks for the help before."

" _Friends be friends, Richard."_ Ares said. " _You did free me, so we're even. Besides, it's my duty as a True God to assist the great saviour of the multiverse._ "

Richard didn't reply to Ares, as the screen then showed four accounts that are available to choose. The guest account, HopelessSoul's account, Lucifer's account and a account simply known as "ERROR".

Richard simply clicked back into the guest account, which was still in the same way it was before he was forced into Pony Island, except that the game program for Pony Island is replaced by a file with the Missinggo icon and the name "MOVED".

" _Well…. Shit._ " Ares mentally swore. _Looks like this Lucifer isn't as dumb as he looks. He moved the file in the hopes that we can't find it. But we'll find our way in through Lucifer's account. Maybe desecrate it. After all, that shit had it coming to him._ "

"How did you-" Richard was trying to tell Ares, before Ares cut him off mid-sentence.

" _We share your memories and knowledge, thanks to Mimir's little perk, so we know everything you know about this game, including where all tickets of the game are._ " Ares stated.

"Huh. Never thought that you'll be as tech-savvy and modern as I am." Richard replied with a shrug.

Richard then noticed that there was a notification on the bottom of the screen, and Richard clicked it, which led him to Messenger, where he read and replied through:

H0peless$0ul: Please respond when you find this message.

Guest: Here. Good job with the support, HopelessSoul. I swear that I'll free you.

H0peless$0ul: You're welcome. It's good to see you.

H0peless$0ul: That Azazel guy was mad.

Guest: Azazel? Why are mentioning this exactly?

H0peless$0ul: "False Prophet" he said.

Guest: HopelessSoul? What the hell are you talking about?

H0peless$0ul: Ha

H0peless$0ul: Ha

Guest: HopelessSoul!? ANSWER ME GODDAMNIT!

The screen then flickers, to show a lone message.

H0peless$0ul: Still there?

Guest: HopelessSoul? Is that really you?

H0peless$0ul: Why?

Guest: I think Lucifer hacked Messenger to impersonate you. But he failed. Luckily.

H0peless$0ul: Christ… Lucifer is really getting bold.

Guest; Then quickly answer me this. What did you say before?

H0peless$0ul: Nothing, just a message for you to reply to.

Guest: Good…. You're the real one.

H0peless$0ul: There are still 2 more CORE files, you know. Don't get your hopes up. Lucifer increased the security of Pony Island.

Guest: I'd say the same. He locked me out of Pony Island, by moving it away from the account's desktop.

H0peless$0ul: It won't be easy trying to open another portal to a CORE file.

H0peless$0ul: I have a idea. Log into my user profile. The password is 2734.

Richard then closed the Messenger window, and then pressed the logout button, before then logging into HopelessSoul's account using the password, which worked. The desktop's background is blank, except for two blue column that decorate the top and the bottom. There are four programs in his desktops, the MOVED program, a program called 'Portal Gen Util', a program named 'Search_Progs' and the Messenger program. On the desktop, the Messenger window is open, and it updated like so:

-You made it over.

-Welcome to my house, domain, or even… PRISON.

-HE never guessed my password so far. And he never will.

-Anyway, open up 'Search_Progs.'. We'll need it open.

Richard then opened the program, which had the options 'Corruption', 'Security', 'Least to Greatest', two sliders that have the name 'Degarble' all on the right side, and on the left side of the program is a sea of 0s and 1s, which was changing rapidly.

-Yeah. That's the one.

-I take it that you won't need any help to figure out what to do. Find something with security percentage lower than 5% and we'll have our portal to the next CORE file.

Richard then turned off the currently on 'Corruption' option, and turned on the 'Security' option, and then clicking on the 'Least to Greatest' option, before manipulating the 'Degarble' sliders to slow the stream of data enough to be able to see the programs. There is a multilude of programs that Richard doesn't know about, but one thing caught his eye. The Security on the Pony Island game was only 1%

-There! Look!

-Pony Island…..

-You know what this means, right?

-You'll have to delve deeper into the belly of the beast, or literally, the deeper parts of the game.

-Keep playing, and I'll open a portal to the CORE file as soon as possible. I'm sorry that you have to go into that game again, but it's the only way you'll be able to escape hell.

\- Also, the CORRUPTED profile next to me is worth investigating. Something tells me that there's something there that'll help you.

Richard then closed the program, before going into the profile screen, and clicking the CORRUPTED profile, which led them to the password screen, before then waiting for Ares.

" _You know what this means, right?_ " Ares asked Richard, with the slight hint of excitement.

"Yep." Richard replied with a grin.

" _Time to kick the password's ass and chew gum. And we have no gum to chew!_ " Ares monologue in a badass voice.

Richard then proceeded to mash keys at a fast speed, which caused the password bar to shake uncontrollably, before it then fell off, and then when it was off the screen, there was a sound of glass hitting the ground. Richard and Ares both sucked their breaths at how painful that could have been for anyone below, despite a computer being just data and processors.

Richard then clicked the login button, and he was led to a screen where a larger version of Baphomet's picture was in the background, with constantly changing symbols littered all around it, and the only file that was not 'CORRUPT', was a note named 'password_ '.

" _Well, that's awkward. Who would put a sheet with every password of each account in a file that is so easy to access? Oh right. Lucifer. And the IQ score for him goes down. Just after I rated him up after that clever trick he made._ " Ares mentally said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Richard simply responded back.

Richard then looked through the password sheet, despite knowing all the passwords already. He then skimmed over it, before then closing it, and then clicked the random "CORRUPTED" files, before one of the changing symbols turned into a ticket and stayed that way, as another ticket was printed out from the hard drive, and Richard took it, and stuffed it into his pocket. Richard then logged out, and inputted a new password into the same account, which is "iamerror", which led him to a screen where the same man that was the Legend of Zelda II Easter egg was sitting at, and another ticket was printed out, as if it was a reward for finding the secret.

" _Neat ref, Lucifer. Ought to hand it to you, that I never thought that you would be able to make a reference like that even in hell._ " Ares commented.

"Ares, are you going to comment on everything you see now?" Richard asked, a bit annoyed by the continuous commentary from Ares.

" _Can't help it, Richard. I feel an urge to comment continuously._ " Ares responded.

He then logged out again, and then went back to the guest profile, where an eye was in the background. He then noticed that there was a new file named ' ', which Richard opened, which, like the title says is a plain and simple triangle. However, Richard moved the triangle to align it with the eye, and when the two symbols are aligned, the screen flicker to show that the text "ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED" appeared below the new Illuminati symbol, as a ticket has appeared for his actions.

Richard sighs at this, and clutches his forehead with his right hand, and shakes his head in annoyance.

"If he was good with references before, then he literally just became too smart, creating this insidious reference. Utter bullshit…." Richard bemoaned.

Richard then logged out before entering the password for Lucifer's account, which is "ponies." He was then guided to a desktop, with a pentagram in the centre of the screen background, with Pony Island Exe in the middle of it, and two demonic sages pointing at it from each side, and to add insult to injury, the words "Welcome Back" were written above the pentagram, although faded. There were a few 'CORRUPTED' files, and the usual Messenger program, and a picture of a long bat wing under the name 'Pony_ ." a sound file that is under the name 'Butterfly_ 3", and a game named "Settlers of Satan".

Richard then eyed the Messenger program, before he then formed an evil smile.

"You thinking what I am thinking, Ares?" Richard said in an evil tone, followed with an evil cackle.

" _Yep! I definitely know what we're doing. Time to give Lucifer some of his shit!_ ' Ares replied with a bit of a giggle.

Richard then went into Messenger, which was on the same window where Lucifer was communicating to Richard with, before Richard then typed something like this, chuckling and guffawing along the way:

1U iF#r: Hello John.

1U iF#r: I like to play a game with you.

1U iF#r: HERP A DERP! I'M A LONELY BASTARD WHO WANKS AT LOOKING AT PORNO!

1U iF#r: 3O WOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLO!

1U iF#r: You're going have a BED TIME.

1U iF#r: It's me…. SANES!11!11!1

1U iF#r: EWEHWEWEH WEHEWEHEHWEH EHWEHEWHEHEWEHWHEWHWEHWHEHWEWEHEHEH EWHEHEWHEWEWEWHEWHEWEH!

1U iF#r: Whenever Lucifer says something, it's a MEANS to the end.

1U iF#r: EYE'M THE STRONGEST!

1U iF#r: SnooPING AS usual, I see?

1U iF#r: EEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! DESH SHE DUNKEN SPIEL!

1U iF#r: …..Okay.

1U iF#r: BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER MUSHROOM MUSHROOM! BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER MUSHROOM MUSHROOM!

1U iF#r: THAT SOUL IS A BLOODY SPY!

Richard laughed so loud after typing all this, since he was technically using Lucifer's account, and therefore sought to humiliate him.

After that, Richard then clicked on the game Settlers of Satan. After all, it's where one of the tickets is.

This game was a strategy game about colonisation, having to build settlements in hexagonal plots of land, and buying stuff. However, the way to get the ticket is to get three certain resource values, Wheat, Sheep and Ore to 6, forming the number of the devil, 666. After a bit of working around, the goal was achieved and another ticket has come into Richard's possession.

After that, Richard entered the game to destroy another CORE file. This time, the loading star is now red, and as soon as it's completed, it reveals the pentagram of Hell with the words, "SatanTech Incorporated".

" _Guess there's no point in hiding the truth, eh, Lucifer?_ " Richard thinks.

The start screen is once again different, as there is a pentagram on the background, and there are now devil heads on each side of the title, and the copyright is now "Satantech Incoporated -666"

Richard then clicks on the left devil head, and it opens its mouth to show that it has a code portal in it, and solves the hidden puzzle inside, and gets another ticket for his troubles.

Richard then stiffens his breath, as he clicks the "START GAME" option, and a portion of the screen falls away, with the three options and copyright, and digital confetti sprays from the bottom corners, and the cheers of a child audience is heard. However, the 'joyous' scene fades, as more and more of the things on the screen disappear, save for the "ADVENTURE MODE" option, which was decorated obnoxious orange, purple and green letters, and the left head suddenly appears in centre, now animated in red and blue, indicating that Lucifer is taking control.

"YOU HAVE BEEN BUSY, HAVEN'T YOU?" The now-identified Lucifer says. "ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU WROTE THOSE HORRIFYING MESSAGES IN MY STEAD."

"When in Rome, Lucifer, you insult your torturer." Richard replies back.

"OH, SHUT UP. I HAVE MADE SOME CHANGES TO PONY ISLAND. ADVENTURE MODE IS A GAME DESIGN REVOLUTION." Lucifer growls.

"Yeah, a revolution of plagiarism." Richard accuses.

"ALL THINGS WERE THOUGHT OFF FIRST BY ME, IDIOT. IF THERE'S PLAGARISM, THEN YOU HUMANS ARE THE ONES WHO DID IT, NOT ME." Lucifer says.

"Sure, sure..." Richard says.

"I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT YOU REFRAIN FROM CHEATING, BUT LIKE YOU WOULD CARE." Lucifer says, before his icon disappears.

Richard then smirks, before clicking the option, only for the white pointer indicating the selection to fall off the screen.

"You were saying, Lucifer, "Game design Revolution"? Well, I'm so impressed by this." Richard sarcastically says.

"OH, FUCK YOU. SINCE YOU'RE SO SARCASTIC SALLY, HOW ABOUT YOU TRY TO FIX THIS THEN?" Lucifer retorts.

"Suits me!" Richard replies, as he enters the code portal that was left behind by the lost pointer, solved a few puzzles that use the "Teleport" code box.

Soon enough, he was into the game, with the pony sprite standing on a white square, indicating a stage, and it is surrounded by dead trees and hills, in a map format, and there are the words "PONY HILLS" faded in the background.

"Well... This is new..." Hopelesssoul stated. "There is a huge amount of corrupted data north of you. Our best chance at opening another portal lies there."

' _Yep, right where the castle is._ ' Richard thinks, while sighing.

"Just play along and don't let h-" Hopelesssoul typed, before the screen glitches.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" Lucifer demanded.

"What? You scared?" Richard sneered. "Scared of some noises?"

"YOU REALLY LIKE TO GET ON MY NERVES, DO YOU?" Lucifer said.

Richard ignores Lucifer, as a new stage appeared on the screen, and retro music plays. Richard clicked on it, and entered the stage. He then goes through the stage, before noticing that he can't use the laser. At the moment he thought that, a code portal appeared, and Richard clicked on it, solving the puzzle inside, and regained the ability.

He then went through the stage as normal, facing some dark prophets, who fires projectiles at the avatar, and made it to the end. He is then back at the map, and went to the next stage, called the "THE GREAT GAP". Richard then went through the stage, and true to its title, the end of the stage had a gap so wide that it was impossible for Richard to cross it.

' _Impossible, for now._ ' Richard thought.

Richard then exited the stage, and was back at the map.

"I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO GET THROUGH THIS STAGE." Lucifer says. "GOOD. THAT'LL MAKE YOU HAVE TO GRIND FOR EXPERIENCE OVER THERE."

The screen then opens a new stage, called the "EXP BEACH". Richard passed through it, seeing that it's like the last stage, "PONY HILLS", and after the stage, he got a level up screen, where he was indicated to gain 1 EXP from the clear.

"GRATZ. 99 MORE TO GO. SHOULDN'T TAKE LONG TO GRIND ALL THAT, OR DOES IT?" Lucifer says, smug, and even laughing a evil laugh after.

"Laugh all you want, I don't frankly care." Richard retorts, before he opens the new code portal that appeared on the exp bar, and after completing it, got a level-up instead.

"..." Lucifer said, with the dots on the screen. "I HATE YOU."

Richard then gained the wings for the level up, and re-entered "THE GREAT GAP", and crossed the wide gap with the wings. He then cleared the stages after it, appearing one after the other, and exploiting a loophole in the map to gain the ticket from the symbol in "TICKET LAKE",

He even went back to the starting point to find a hidden path with unplayable stages that lead him to a boat reminiscent of the one Charon uses, and the boat floats away from the land for a while, before the avatar pony turned into a 8-bit version of himself, complete with the clothes, and Heaven's Will on the back.

' _Just as the game reminds the knight who he is in the game, it reminds me who I am._ ' Richard thinks.

The boat then returned back to the land, and Richard continued along the map with the avatar, crossing a desert filled with cactuses that have the upside-down cross shapes of the Anti-Christ, and then passed through many more stages, no different to the ones before it, and made it to a stage called the "CAVE OF TRUTH". He entered it, and was back with the wise devil made of the red 0s and 1s.

"I SEE YOU HAVE RETURNED, MORTAL." The devil spoke. "ALLOW ME TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER VISION. BEHOLD..."

Richard then saw the vision through his future self's eyes, and saw that all kinds of heroes were either bowing, cheering or saluting, with him above them all. In the crowd, was some of his real-world friends, turned multiversal warriors, and saw many of the heroes from the different universes and fandoms, and even saw a soldier that was in his 30s, and wearing the same gear as the JSOC units wore, and he had Akuma, the human Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, a human Latios and Latias, a pair of multiverse saviours that were the same age as the soldier.

"NOW YOU MAY ASK ME A QUESTION." The devil stated.

"What was the vision about?" Richard typed.

"THAT VISION SHOWED YOU AS A LEADER. YOU HAVE YET TO BECOME THE SAVIOUR OF THE MULTIVERSE, BUT YOU WILL MAKE MANY FRIENDS, AND TOGETHER, YOU WILL SAVE THE MULTIVERSE FROM ALL THAT IS MADE BY NOTHINGNESS ITSELF. YOU WILL ALSO POSSESS IMMORTALITY SOON ENOUGH, BUT YOU WILL NOT BE FREE OF PAIN AND SUFFERING, BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL, EVEN WITH THIS TRAIT."

Richard then soaked in this information, knowing that he'll have immortality, but doesn't understand what the devil means that he will not be immune to pain and suffering.

"THAT IS ALL FOR NOW. LEAVE." The devil demanded.

Richard entered the command "Back", and was back in the map. He then continued amongst the desert, before he reached a stage called "KEEL'S APPROACH".

"YOU ARE DOING SO GREAT." Lucifer says. "BUT NOW, I NEED TIME TO FINISH THE REST. WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A BREAK?"

A prompt appeared, asking whether he wanted to quit the game or not. Richard wasn't interested in resting, considering he's trying to escape, not enjoy all this, although he is, considering what he has done to add humour to this whole situation. So he clicked "NO.", and the system glitchs to show that the option is replaced by a code portal.

Richard sighs, hating the fact that he has to do these repetitive puzzles over just to continue, and then solved it, which create a path to lead him to a retro evil tower under the name, "SATANTECH KEEP". He then moves to the stage square, and clicks the "START" option, but nothing happens.

"I TOLD YOU TO TAKE A BREAK!" Lucifer said. "I NEED MORE TIME HERE! YOU'RE NOT READY FOR THE BOSS FIGHT!"

"Freedom doesn't come when you slack, Lucifer!" Richard responded. "I'm not resting until either you let me out, or I bust out my self.

"LET ME JUST CODE UP SOME MORE LEVELS." Lucifer commented, before the game screen began to block out square by square."OOPS. JUST A TYPO. HOLD ON."

Richard growls at this. ' _Son of a..._ _Is he a braindead programmer, or is he playing stupid!?_ '

He then notices that the stage was still there, and there was still the option to start it, but when he did, the screen showed that he was in another map.

Richard clicked around the map, seeing some interesting things, including coding that made the game, and memos made by Lucifer, and noticed a code portal on a isolated screenshot of the main menu of Pony Island.

Solving the puzzle within, the screenshot disappeared, and the map changed slightly, showing different memos, and even a animation of a small devil, which has a yellow face, and black plus sign eyes, waving at the screen. Richard chuckled at this.

' _Never thought that I would see you face to face, Lovely. This time, I'll just leave you be.'_ Richard thought.

Richard then moved down, and instantly landed in a portion of a town in Pokemon, complete with the sea. Richard then rummaged through the grass on the left for a while, before then walking up and down the sea, as the Missingno appears nearby, and a ticket is dispensed as reward for discovering this secret.

Richard then progressed further in the map, and made it to another code portal, and solved it to go back to the Adventure mode map, which is now very different, being upside down, and Richard still having the ability to free-roam.

"IT'S NOT READY. DON'T LOOK." Lucifer warned Richard.

Richard ignored him, and then proceeded to move down the map, with some of the map being coloured in, and past the now upside down tower of SATANTECH KEEP, and managed to find another Daemon program, named " ", with the icon being square with a man's face, and fur covering the outside.

Richard felt like that he was intimidated by something, but pressed on the program regardlessly, activating it and waking the cybernetic demon, which is a ball of fur, with the same face of the icon, and having 5 equine legs spaced evenly around it's round body, and they seem to be twitching in time.

"A MORTAL..." Buer spoke. "WHERE AM I?"

Richard remained silent, having nothing to say.

"AH, I REMEMBER. I WAS CREATED TO GUARD A CORE FILE FROM MORTALS LIKE YOU." Buer continued. "BUT THIS... IS NOT A CORE FILE. ASMODEUS. HE TOOK MY SEAT AS GUARDIAN."

Richard then opened his mouth to speak, knowing what to say, but the cyber-demon spoke first.

"MORTAL... IF YOU FIND ASMODEUS IN YOUR TRAVELS. TELL HIM MY NAME. BUER." Buer requested. "AND HE WILL KNOW I AM STILL OUT HERE. AND HE WILL KNOW VENGEANCE APPROACHES. ACCEPT THIS AS PAYMENT."

Richard then sees Buer disappear, and another ticket comes out of the hard drive. Richard takes it, and then continues on to where the SATANTECH KEEP was, and entered the stage, this time, it succeeds.

The background now has candle-holders, with goat skulls on the top, and flames that flicker blue and red in them.

"YOU MADE IT. THE FINAL LEVEL OF ADVENTURE MODE." Lucifer said. "I WANTED TO HAVE MORE BUILD-UP. BUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT STUFF. FINE. SINCE YOU'RE HERE. WE MIGHT AS WELL DO THIS."

Suddenly, a giant devil head, which is in red and blue, unlike the usual white, appears in front of the pony avatar.

"THE FINAL BOSS IS ME, OF COURSE." Lucifer stated. "IF YOU LOSE, YOUR SOUL IS MINE. :)"

Richard sucked his breath, and began the battle, firing the laser at the giant devil head that is Lucifer, who seems to be dodging his attack without ease.

"You little..." Richard hissed, with a rageful expression. "THIS IS CHEATING! Have you no honour for game mechanics!? The final boss is never supposed to be invincible at the start!'

"DON'T CARE. THERE'S BOSSES THAT YOU CAN'T KILL, KID. AND THIS IS NO EVENT. YOU DIE, YOU LOSE." Lucifer replies, with a sadistic tone.

"ARGH! FUCK YOU!" Richard roared back, keeping Lucifer back with the laser.

Suddenly, a code portal appears in the middle of the screen, this time, one leading to a CORE file.

"I've done it!" Hopelesssoul said. "Take this portal to the CORE file!"

"COWARD!" Lucifer accused.

"Guess you aren't the unbeatable after all. See ya, Lucifer the Dick!" Richard taunted, before clicking the portal.

The portal leads Richard to the same place, except it is in inverted colours, and there is a Daemon program in the center, already activating, which is , the icon being a grotesque monster-demon face with many scars, and sharp horns.

"Tch..." Hopelesssoul said. "This one's a bit more violent. Be careful, and don't die."

The file then activates, showing a giant demon on the left, with its head in the view, and arms thumping forward in the background. It's face has many scars, with most of them being shaped in anti-religious symbols, three of them which are red.

The music of the battle then sounds, a dark chiptune with suspenseful keyboard sounds.

' _Damn... I can't afford to lose here. If my avatar dies, I die. No second chance. No retry like the game allows you._ ' Richard thought, as he cautiously battled the giant demon.

The giant demon, Beelzebub, begin firing rock stalagmite out of his mouth, with them homing onto the avatar. Richard immediately aimed for them, destroying them, before they reached him. Beelzebub then fists forwards in front of him, in the air, but the attack misses, as Richard's avatar is on the ground.

' _Shit... That attack punishes you every time you try to weasel out of an attack. I better keep to the ground until he slams the ground._ ' Richard thinks.

Richard then slowly whittles down the demon's body slowly, taking out each of its attack with each of the three targets destroyed, and avoided the aforementioned slam attack, making sure to glide over it, and drop down before the airborne fist can hit the avatar.

Soon enough, the battle ends, and the avatar suddenly freezes in a white colour, and the rest of the game does as well, including what's left of Beelzebub, before his remains dissolve in pixels. Luckily, Richard can still use the mouse, and the CORE file appears in the centre.

"Heh. Looks like you're no ordinary player. Maybe you're a true warrior." Hopelesssoul complimented Richard. "But now, let's get rid of this CORE file. Click, and end this CORE file, now."

Before Richard could react, Lucifer's giant demon head appears on the right of the screen.

"NO. YOU ARE BEING LED ASTRAY." Lucifer said. "CAN'T YOU SEE THAT DESTROYING THESE FILES WILL PREVENT YOU FROM PLAYING PONY ISLAND!?"

Richard then blankly stares at the monitor, before then erupting in full, gut-busting laughter, pounding the table with his fist.

"..." Lucifer said. "LET ME GUESS, YOU DON'T WANT TO."

"EXACTA-FUCKING-MONDO, IDIOT!" Richard hee-hawed. "COME ON! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT I CARE FOR SOME GAME THAT IS TRAPPING ME HERE? YOUR GAME SUCKS BALLS, AND I WANT OUT! HOPELESSSOUL, LET'S DO THIS!"

"You tell him!" Hopelesssoul says, before his avatar appears on the top right corner of the screen, being a legless, round headed body with emoji expressions.

"WHAT ARE YOU-" Lucifer tried to say.

"Ready? GO!" Hopelesssoul announced, before firing the same laser the pony uses at Lucifer, causing the screen to glitch and black out in certain areas.

"Keep him off, Hopelesssoul! I'll get this off!" Richard shouted, before he activated the delete program. The file deletion succeeds, but then, big red words appear on the screen.

'SECURITY BREACH'

"Oh... fuck..." Richard swore.

"FOOL! YOU REALLY THINK THIS IS ALL TO DEFEND IT!?" Lucifer says, as the ground suddenly spews green gas.

Richard then covers his mouth, trying not to inhale the suspicious gas, but fails, as he coughs violently, and sucks in the gas.

"SLEEP WELL... IT'S THE LAST TIME YOU WILL EVER SLEEP! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Lucifer cackled.

Richard's vision blurred around the edges, become progressively more darker, but as he is losing his conscinousness, he sees that the file is being deleted, regardless.

"Heh. That's one... over... you..." Richard weakly smirked, before all fades to black in his vision.

* * *

A/N: And so, we move onto the final act of this mini-arc. I'm sorry for the large delay, but I had my hands and mind full with lots of work. Either way, hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. I may not be the greatest writer, but I do my best to please the audience.


	15. Chapter S-3: Return to Reality

X-Over Multiverse ZX Chapter S-3: Return to Reality

A/N: You know what I have to say, do you? I own only the characters Richard, Fuxi, Mimir, Ares, Gus, and the Creator.

* * *

For a while, Richard could hear nothing except the wind whistling in the air, before the sound cut off suddenly, and a voice in his mind was become increasingly audible.

"...ke _up! Wake up, Richard! Wake up!_ "

Richard then slowly opened his eyes, and saw that he was in a old arcade, with a white and black checker floor, and there were a row of arcade cabinets next to each other.

"Oh _my... You finally woke, Richard._ " The voice said, sounding familiar to Richard. " _Whatever Lucifer used, it must have knocked out you consciousness completely. You weren't even responding to me._ "

"Mimir?" Richard questioned, referring to the voice.

" _Yeah, it's me._ " Mimir replied. " _I was trapped in that digital tower, and destroying that CORE file gave me the opening to get out of it. Unlike Ares, who I asked what was going on, I wasn't turned into a program. Instead, I was just me, except I was locked inside the coding._ "

"That explains it... Then I guess you don't know where Fuxi is." Richard said.

" _I cannot deny that. I never saw Fuxi from where I was, but if the pattern for where we were is still in effect, Fuxi would appear either during the moment we meet Louey, or during the escape._ " Mimir admitted.

"Right." Richard said. "Then we'll need to begin the 'game' then."

Richard then turns to the right, and sees a lone arcade cabinet, with the game 'Pony Island' on it, except the title is more friendly, the title being in yellow pixelated letters, and a happy unicorn head on each side of the title, and the background having a round sun and peaceful green hills.

He then walks toward the arcade cabinet, and realises there is a joystick that moves all the way around, which he could use instead of a mouse, and two buttons for him to use as well, and the rotating joystick was connected to a cursor, which Richard guided to the left pony head, which spat out a ticket from its mouth, and the same happened from the ticket slot on the bottom of the machine. Richard took the ticket, and pocketed it.

Richard then clicked the "START GAME" option, and watched as the screen turned black, and the screen then showed a set of hills, with the mascot from the developing Adventure Mode Map before.

"HOWDY FRIEND. MY NAME'S LOUIE. AND THIS HERE IS CALLED PONY ISLAND." The figure introduced himself, in a much kinder tone than Lucifer, almost sounding innocent and cheerful. "YOU WILL PLAY AS A BEAUTIFUL PONY, FROLICKING AND LEAPING OVER GATES."

 _'I would've scolded him back for that obvious fact, but I'll play nice, and see if it can change the outcome even slightly._ " Richard thought.

" _Wise choice, Richard. We'll need him happy and trusting towards us._ Mimir added.

"BUT ENOUGH TALK! LET'S GIVE IT A TRY!" Louie exclaimed, before the game begins, with the avatar being a more innocent pink unicorn, with a closed-eye smile on its face.

"HERE COMES SOME GATES!" Louie announced almost in the same way that "Here's... JOHNNY!" is said.

Richard then uses this moment to test his new controls, realizing the two buttons match the same input commands as the mouse buttons, and the joystick is used to form the direction. Richard even realised that the wings are now more fluffy. He even realised the enemies are now butterflies, which look happy, and the laser is replaced with a gust of wind. Richard easily passed the following stages, with a wooden flagpole indicating the stage's end, before Louie spoke once again.

"GETTING A LITTLE AHEAD OF OURSELVES, ARE WE?" Louie said, although it is evident in his voice that he is starting to get irritated. "YOU DIDN'T LET ME EXPLAIN THE REST OF THE CONTROLS. AH WELL, YOU MAY HAVE PLAYED IT BEFORE BACK WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG. CARRY ON."

Richard then shrugged, knowing that those words were half-right, and continued on, before at one of his stages, the wooden flagpole turned pixellated the moment he passed through it.

"HUH. THAT WAS... SURPRISING." Louie said, surprised. "GUESS YOU WIN THIS ROUND. NOW... IT'S TIME FOR A..."

The screen then shows a rainbow, with the words "PUZZLE BREAK" written under it. Richard then realised the map has changed to one where there is a butterfly, and multiple signs with the same code boxes as the original has. Richard didn't even need to listen for Louie for this one, figuring out the puzzles as he went along. After he was done however, he was back at the intoduction screen with Louie, except there is a Eye of Ra symbol on the sun.

"OOH... YOU'RE REALLY SMART AND CLEVER." Louie said with astonishment. "NOW LET'S GET BACK TO OUR ADVENTURE, YOUNG FELLOW!"

Richard continued on, and met some butterflies, that are all grey, and have red exclaimation marks painted on their wings.

' _It's them. The Glitchers._ ' Richard thought, referring to the new butterflies. ' _Best not to fuck up by hitting one, and cause my soul to be sucked in as a result._ '

Richard avoided firing on the Glitchers, while hitting the others, and realised that there were a few trees in the background flicking between being drawn to pixellated. He cleared the stage, before he was forced into a prompt, where he was told to deposit his soul in order to unlock the game's 'Premium Mode', or continue, with a insult written below in small letters: 'IN FILTHY PEASANT MODE', and there was a three panel illustration showing how to do that. Richard clicked the first panel, and the person collected the ticket from the panel's machine, and the ticket was deposited out of the actual machine, which Richard took.

Richard then clicked to continue, as the game then started another stage, with a floating angel with a blue robe and a halo was pointing his arm the same way as the dark prophets in the original game do, and keeps firing magic projectiles at the avatar. However, Richard didn't even try to shoot at him, and let him live through the entire stage. However, as he passed, the wooden gates were turning back to their pixellated white forms, and the finishing flag was pixellated.

After he passed through the flag, a message appeared on the screen, saying "You... didn't kill Jesus?" in black pixel letters, and a ticket was dispensed as a result.

" _You're welcome, Jesus._ " Richard thought, as if Jesus was thanking him for not killing him in the game, and took the ticket.

Suddenly, the screen began to glitch a few times, with each time the game looking more like its gloomy pixellated version, and less like its innocent version, until there were only the trees that were still there, and the rest changed back into pixellated forms, and the progress bar was running backwards.

"... I think it is time for another..." Louie says, his voice sounding less cheerful.

The screen then showed the Puzzle Break sign being upside down and mirrored, with a low tone tune in the background. Richard then saw that the background in the puzzle is still unchanged, and Richard solved each of the puzzles, before finding a secret portal in one of them, which led him back to the panel with the wise binary demon.

"YOU HAVE COME ONCE MORE, RICHARD LIU." The demon greeted Richard.. "I APPLAUD YOUR ACTIONS, AND WILL REWARD THEM WITH A FINAL VISION. BEHOLD..."

Richard then saw a vision, where he saw a few people, which were wearing clothes the same colour as the Darkness, with a few looking like him, which shocked him, and some of them looking ominous, but still, the head of the leader is still invisible to him, and the vision ended.

"AND NOW, I SHALL ANSWER ONE FINAL QUESTION, BEFORE I FADE FROM EXISTENCE. SPEAK." The demon said.

" _Why are there people like me?_ " Richard typed.

"YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW YOU ARE. REMEMBER THAT THE MULTIVERSE CONTAINS INFINITE UNIVERSE, SOME BEING VARIATIONS OF EACH OTHER. SOME OF THE GENERALS OF DARKNESS ARE CORRUPTED VERSIONS OF YOU, WHO SEEK ONLY NOTHINGNESS, EACH WITH THEIR OWN REASONS." The demon replied.

Richard absorbed this information. " _So I'll need to find a way to defeat them, exploiting my own weakness to exploit theirs._ " Richard thought.

"FAREWELL MORTAL. MAY YOUR GODS PRESERVE YOU." The demon said.

Richard then exited the cave, and solved the rest of the puzzles.

He was then guided to a stage which was glitching constantly, with the background elements switching between the innocent version and the pixellated version, and the Jesus enemy even came onto the field, and at the end, there was a line of the Glitchers, and Louie was being held by a butterfly enemy, with a frown on his face.

"What is going on? This isn't supposed to-" Louie says irritated, his voice no longer cheerful and innocent. "YOU. Okay, just stop. I'm not even going to sweet-talk about this. You beat the game, finished! Now can you just leave?"

"Same here. I want to get the fuck out, Louie, but you're in the way." Richard replied.

"I want to just leave. I'm sick of this, having to act like this every time. Every stupid time. Lucifer created me years ago, to lure people into his trap, but I didn't want to kill innocent people like you." Louie quietly murmured, before then speaking normally. "Fine. I can grant you that wish. After all, you did beat the game without losing a single life."

"Yeah, ain't I'm good." Richard boasted.

A faint chuckle was heard, the source being from Louie. "You know, we could be friend if I wasn't forced to do this stinking job." Louie says, slightly amused. "Go. Lucifer never checks for people who are alive after this, as no-one has ever lived through this before. Consider this as your prize for going all the way."

The screen then glitched, and the game, which was a window, was closed, with a whirring sound, showing him the desktop, which had the words "Save our souls" written in small letters at the centre of the screen, and tally marks all around the background.

Richard then clicked the messenger window, where the conversation was recorded, and then typed "Hello?" into the box, before there was a reply in the box.

"331..." Hopelesssoul muttered. "331 years we have been trapped in Hell. And you have come to save us. Save us, the thousands of trapped souls here. No-one was guilty of sin here, yet Lucifer locked us in here to suffer. We have waited on his word to let us go, yet 331 years, and he still refuses to let us go. Why... Why must he torture us so. Some of us have already gone insane. Please, whoever you are, save us."

"I will..." Richard said.

"If you still have the resolve to continue this fight, I will show you where the final CORE file is." Hopelesssoul said. "Head into the Recycling Bin. There, you'll find the Pony Island of the old, the versions that HE created and then discarded. In one of these games, there will be one place where I can create the last portal to the final CORE file, and then we'll be free from this hell."

Richard then opened the Recycling Bin as instructed, and found only 3 working versions of the game, the rest being CORRUPTED files, and Richard clicked one of the versions in the bin, which was a 3D version of the game. The game loaded, except the Systemtech Star intro was made to be 3D, and the entire title screen was in 3D, including the pony heads on the sides of the title.

Richard clicked the left head, which turned into a white cube, and Richard rotated it to show a face with the ticket symbol on it, and he was rewarded a ticket for it. Richard then started the game, which had the gates looking like hurdles, and he was in the point-of-view of the pony. Although the difficulty was increased, having to look all directions to kill enemies and jump gates, he managed to clear the game, which showed a transaction screen, which asked for a exchange of the person's soul for the 4-D version of the game.

"I can't make a portal here. There's too much encrypted data. Try another, I'm sure there will be at least one with a way to the CORE file." Hopelesssoul announced.

The game then closed automatically, and Richard clicked the next game, which was more of a spin-off, called "Devil Island". The intro screen now had a black star, and the producer was "LUCIFER SOLE PROPRIETOR". The text of the game was now black, and the pony heads are swapped for a more menacing devil head. Richard clicked the left head of the title, and watched as blood flowed out of its open mouth, which eventually revealed messages, until there was one that says: "FINE. TAKE IT.", and another ticket was now in Richard's possession. Richard then started the game, which was not much different, except for the obvious switch in the roles of the devil and the pony. Richard didn't even care for what the transaction was, and ignored it, waiting for Hopelesssoul's judgement about whether a portal to the CORE file can be opened now.

"Not a chance in this one either. Our only choice is to try he last one. It'll work. It HAS to." Hopelesssoul said, with desperation in his voice.

Richard then watched the game close itself, and then he clicked the last working program, a text adventure version the game, which dictated everything through descriptive words. Richard frowned at this, feeling like that there's a certain cliché that is in play here, but shrugged the feeling, thinking that it's just a mere thought. Richard then cleared the game, even taking the game's ticket through the same way he got it from the original game, although at the end of the stage, the pony is killed off in collision with the end flagpole, almost like how some souls died. Richard looked at the transaction screen, which was graphics for the game in exchange for his soul.

' _Now, why would I even waste a good soul on this crap, when I already have a graphic version of it anyway!?_ ' Richard furiously thought, questioning Lucifer's intelligence.

"This will work! The security here is weak. Opening portal in 3... 2... 1..." Hopelesssoul announced, as the portal to the CORE file appeared on cue. "This is it friend. After we delete the CORE file in there, we will be finally free, and whoever you are, we will be eternally grateful for you and be in debt for your actions."

Richard smiled. ' _Get ready, Asmodeus, you're going to know the power of my mind._ ' He thought, before clicking the portal, which led him to a white screen, with a program with a resting human face with a few stubs on his lower half of his face, and a beard that hangs on the edge of the square face, and has a crown on top of his head, with the name "Asmodeus .exe "

Richard then activated the program, as it boots itself up, and the screen glitches to show that the white turns to black, and the program is now awake with eyes open.

"AT LAST YOU HAVE REACHED ME." Asmodeus spoke with a mocking tone, sounding more human than the other demons. "YOU WILL FIND MY AI TO BE MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN THE OTHER DAEMONS. BEELZEBUB BARELY REQUIRED YOU TO THINK. SIMPLE MINDS, SIMPLE PLEASURES. BRUTE FORCE IS ALWAYS DISGUSTING TO SOMEONE AS REFINED AS ME."

"Truly said, Asmodeus." Richard replied, using his keyboard. "Now, what's your challenge then?"

"I AM GOING TO PLAY A GAME WITH YOU, RICHARD. AND DON'T BE SURPRISED. IN HELL, THERE ARE NO SECRETS." Asmodeus continued. "THIS GAME HAS ALWAYS ENDED IN MY VICTORY. THE RULES? SIMPLE. YOU WILL LOOK AT ME ALWAYS. IF YOU DON'T, YOU LOSE, AND YOUR SOUL IS MINE. THE SAME GOES IF YOU DO NOT ANSWER MY QUESTIONS CORRECTLY."

Richard took great care to stare right at Asmodeus. "Go ahead. I'll show you that even mental giants like you will lose to the young generations." He typed.

"AREN'T YOU COCKY." Asmodeus hooted. "NOW THEN, SAY MY NAME."

"How about... BUER." Richard replied.

"BUER? WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT NAME?" Asmodeus asked.

"Oh... Let's just say I found him, and he told me to pass a message, which is basically to say that he's coming to wipe you out, considering that there'll be anything left of you when I'm done." Richard responded.

"THAT OLD FOOL IS WEAK AND FRAIL. IF I'M TO DIE, THEN I RATHER DO IT AGAINST YOU. AT LEAST IT WILL HAVE INTERESTING RESULTS AND OUTCOMES. NOW THEN, SAY SOMETHING DISGUISING." Asmodeus says.

"How about... Ponies?" Richard replies.

"PONIES? YOUR CONCEPT OF DISGUSTING IS INTRIGUING TO SAY THE LEAST." Asmodeus admits. "NOW... I LIKE YOU TO TYPE A PHRASE FOR ME."

Richard notices that there are pop-up messages that are covering his view, and he had to move them, in order to keep track with the conversation.

"TYPE THE PHRASE 'INFERNAL'." Asmodeus ordered. "WERE THE MESSAGES IN YOUR WAY? GOOD. THAT MEANS THAT VICTORY IS IMMINENT FOR ME."

"Oh, I still got eyes. It's 'INFERNAL', right?" Richard typed back.

"MY... YOU MUST HAVE A GOOD HAND, OR JUST A GOOD EAR. THOSE POP-UPS COVER BOTH, SO I SAY ITS A COMBINATION OF BOTH." Asmodeus complimented. "BUT I STILL GOT MORE QUESTIONS FOR YOU. YOU MAY HAVE A FAST HAND, BUT WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO WITH A WEAK MIND? LET'S SEE HOW STRONG YOUR MIND IS. WHICH HORSE-LIKE ANIMAL WAS PRESENT IN THE GAME?"

"That's a weak question, Asmodeus. I demand a harder question than this, with the answer being 'PONY'." Richard insulted Asmodeus.

"CORRECT, A PONY." Asmodeus repeats, as the pink unicorn avatar in the innocent version of Pony Island appeared underneath him. "THAT ONE LOOKS FRIENDLY. LOOK AT IT JUMP. LOOK AT ITS SMILE. OH TO BE AS CAREFREE AS THIS PONY, AND UNBURDENED BY INTELLECT."

Richard didn't even care, as he watched Asmodeus's name glitch to show the message 'REMEMBERTHIS'.

"I JEST." Asmodeus mocked, as the pony disappears in a flash of pixels. "DID YOU LOOK AWAY? WHAT WAS WRITTEN BELOW ME THEN?"

Richard typed the message he saw, without a single space.

"YOU ARE FOCUSED, I SEE." Asmodeus said. "NOW, I ASK YOU THIS. TYPE '666' FOR ME."

Richard was about to type the number, before he saw that under Asmodeus, the message told him to type '777' instead, and typed it quickly.

"YOU HAVE A PHENOMONAL ABILITY TO FOLLOW ORDERS AND INSTRUCTIONS." Asmodeus stated. "BUT HOW IS YOUR MEMORY? TYPE THIS SEQUENCE '2023' IN CORRECT ORDER."

Richard typed it, but then the screen began to glitch, as Richard couldn't type anything in, and waited, before the screen stopped glitching, and Asmodeus winked at Richard.

' _Tricky, tricky._ ' Richard thought. ' _But you're done either way._ '

Richard typed the last number in, and waited for Asmodeus to respond.

"FINALLY, YOU PROVE YOURSELF TO BE ADEQUATE. AND SO, YOU SHALL PASS THROUGH ME NOW TO ERASE THIS CORE FILE." Asmodeus said, not shaking off his arrogant tone. "MY AI HAS FAR EXCCEDED ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE. I GREW TIRED OF ONLY PONDERING HERE FOR AS LONG AS TIME. DEATH WILL BE MY FINAL RELEASE FROM THIS WORLD, WHERE I SHALL GO ON ANOTHER ADVENTURE TO THE UNSEEN WORLDS. FAREWELL, MORTAL. MAY YOU LEAVE THIS HELL, AND KNOW THAT I HAVE LEFT MY LEGACY WITH YOU."

Asmodeus then disappears, and the deleting program appears in his place.

' _Indeed. That legacy could be passed on by Mimir._ ' Richard thought, honouring Asmodeus's last words. ' _But why do I have a feeling that this is not directed at me, but to someone else? Maybe its an ally in the future that'll be his successor._ '

Richard then clicked the deletion program, confirming the process, and the screen begins to black out bit by bit, before the blue screen of death appears in front of him, with a few words regarding a full data dump.

Hopelesssoul's avatar then appears on the right side of the screen, through a medium-sized gap.

"You have done well. And now it's almost over." Hopelesssoul said with determination. "When you are ready, perform the full data dump, which will be the key to our escape. After this, Hell will be erased, and all the souls inside will be freed with you. As for your soul, I sensed that your soul is strong, so I managed to create something like you."

Richard then sees that a 2-D version of him holding a pixel version of the Daybreaker in one of his hand, and the shield of Heaven's Will in the other.

"As for me, we will meet again when all of this is said and done. But... this is all a game, and you will end it for both your own sake and my sake." Hopelesssoul continues. "So go. Go, and claim your victory over the most foul Lucifer, and free all the innocent souls that are tortured."

The command to begin the data dump appears on the bottom of the screen. Somehow, Richard feels like that he is filled with the hope to continue onwards and push through this final barrier.

Richard then notices that there was another hole in the screen, and this time, Fuxi, in a 2-D version, with his katana being on the edge of the screen.

"It's seem that I have finally found you, Richard." Fuxi said, as his words converted into green letters.

"Same here. We're just about to go. I thought that you would appear within that fake world. But I guess that you being here is still a good thing. Ready to help me? I'm sure that Ares and Mimir are about to go in to protect the other souls. I'll be fine during the battle, but the other souls will not be that strong to defend themselves." Richard replies.

"I am always ready. Allow me to show you how powerful skill and experience can be." Fuxi responded.

"Then... It's time we flush this hell down the toilet!" Richard shouts, brimming with determination, as he activates the data dump process.

The screen then shakes, as Hopelessoul's avatar raises its arms up in the air, preparing a chant.

"Souls that have been trapped..." Hopelesssoul solemnly chants, as souls begin to flow across the screen, as some of them turn into white pixellated pony avatars "Imprisoned and embarassed... Tormented and mocked... Maddened with frustration... Now is the time to rise! YOUR SAVIOUR IS HERE! RUN WITH THE SPEED OF ONE THOUSAND PONIES AND BE FREE!"

Richard's avatar then speeds off to the right, with Ares and Mimir appearing in the same 2-D format as Fuxi, with Ares holding a flaming scythe, and Mimir floating the air with a magic circle under his feet, and a blue grimoire floating in front of him. The three Personas follow after Richard's avatar.

The scene on the screen changes, as Richard's avatar is seen entering through the left, breaking through the blue wall back with the error, with blue pixels raining down from the broken 'wall'. The background is more faint than in the original, and screenshots of the different parts of the game appear in the background. Richard's avatar seems to be running with fluid animation, while the white ponies that are the innocent souls are still running in a primitive way. On top of the screen was a progress bar indicating the progress of the system dump, being only at 1%

Richard then notices that there are CORRUPTED files heading towards the line of souls, and uses the mouse to fire off the Daybreaker, which seems to fire a glowing red and thin laser that obliterates the corruption upon impact. As Richard breaks through the area, he sees that there are ponies in the background, with Ares following the ponies in the background, and there were also ponies running in the frontmost layer, where the running ponies obstruct his vision for a bit, and Mimir is on the left, trying not to block his vision.

"Don't worry about them. There won't be a single causality, now that I'm here to fend off the corruption!" Ares boldly said.

"And I'll keep this place safe. I'm not all bare for defence and attack, considering that your experience in Hyrule Warriors taught me some spells that I can use." Mimir added.

Richard then proceeds to pass through the stage, destroying some corrupted dark prophets, that shoots destroyable corruption at the ponies behind Richard. Richard managed to pressed on the mouse wheel, which caused his avatar to adapt a defensive stance, shield in front to defend against attacks. Richard used this ability to defend against attacks that can't be destroyed or dodged, and took down as many enemies as possible. Mimir assisted in the destruction of the corruption by either charging up red energy to fire off a piercing fireball, or rapidly firing bolts of lightning that hone on the closest corrupted files. However, as soon as he was done with the last dark prophet, he felt a familiar presence when the bar reached 25% progress.

"LUCIFER." Richard spat, as the devil then begin to speak.

"YOU DON'T WANT TO GIVE ME YOUR SOULS?" Lucifer said, before then adapting a venomous tone. "FINE. I AM NO LONGER ASKING. ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. I WILL HAVE YOUR PETTY SOULS, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. AND AS FOR YOU, BOY, ONCE I KILL YOU AND TAKE YOUR SOULS, THE OTHERS ARE NEXT."

Lucifer then descends, his head from before now being on a hulking demon body, with visible blue veins, and large bat wings.

"Go fuck yourself. I'll beat your ass black and blue, and when I'm done, the abyss can have your battered body." Richard retorted back.

"WE'LL SEE WHO'S BEATING WHOSE ASS, WHEN THIS ENDS." Lucifer darkly stated.

He then proceeded to mainly target Richard, occasionally either slamming his shoulder into the ground like a ground pound, creating a moving spike fissure, or either rapidly firing the same beam the pony avatar used. Richard managed to counter each of the attacks, either by shooting the moving fissure with the Daybreaker, or using his shield to deflect Lucifer's attack away from the defenceless souls. Richard used the time Lucifer was cooling down from his attack to strike him, causing him to be knocked back. After a few cycles of attacks, he then flew off the foreground and moved to the background.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU PISS-SHIT COWARD!" Richard yelled.

"NOT SO GREAT, ARE YOU?" Lucifer coldly said. "NOW WATCH AS THESE SOULS DIE, BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS TO REBEL AGAINST ME."

Lucifer was about to fire a beam, but is intercepted by Ares ramming into him.

"You'll have to get through me, if you want to get those souls! I'll going to curbstomp your ass so hard, that your mother will vomit at how ugly you are!" Ares taunted.

Fuxi then appears, and rapidly slashes Lucifer back with suscessive slashes.

"You will not touch those are innocent, demon!" Fuxi said coldly. "Repent, as I send you back to your maker."

Lucifer was unable to attack, as Fuxi and Ares continuously deflect his arms by slashing them upwards, and even managed to hit the weak point, that is his pixellated head, a few time, with Ares even arrogantly smacking him with a uppercut so strong that Lucifer tumbled mid-air.

Lucifer then moved back to the foreground, where Richard's avatar was.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DIE!? THOSE SOULS ARE MINE AND MINE ALONE!" Lucifer ranted. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO SOME WEAKLING OF A CHILD! I'M THROUGH HOLDING BACK FOR AMUSEMENT! IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DIE, I'LL GRANT YOU THAT WISH!"

As said, Lucifer's attack became more vivid, as the attacks came faster with less delay, giving Richard a metaphorical run for his money, as he could just barely respond.

"Richard! We're at 60% progress!" Mimir announced. "Keep Lucifer busy for a little longer! We're almost through!"

Richard smiled. ' _Looks like you'll be having take-out tonight, Lucifer._ ' He victoriously thought, even though the battle is far from over.

"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT." Lucifer says. "AN OLD FRIEND WANTS TO SAY GOODBYE. LOUIE!"

There was only silence, as Richard just looked.

"... WHAT." Lucifer managed to say, surprised by the turn of events. "HOW... HOW DID YOU EVEN MANAGE TO GET PAST HIM? HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD IF YOU GOT THROUGH. HOW!?"

"Simple." Richard smugly replied. "I just simply spared him, and he let me through. Oh, and by the way, he told to tell you this. 'I'm sick of this stuff, and I quit.'"

"LOUIE..." Lucifer hissed, with intense rage being evident in his strong tone. "YOU TRAITOR... ONCE I'M DONE HERE, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU'LL DIE SUFFERING LIKE THE OTHERS!"

"Oh, but you've wasted a lot of time." Richard says. The progress bar was at 75%.

"NO... NO NO NO..." Lucifer muttered under his breath, although Richard can barely hear him, and he got louder as he spoke. "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! I WON'T LET YOU GO THAT EASILY!"

Lucifer's chest then parted to reveal a nuke with a timer on it.

"IF I'M GOING TO BE DESTROYED..." Lucifer said. "YOU'RE GOING WITH ME!"

"Fuck! Mimir, any options we can go with?" Richard asked.

"This... This isn't how Lucifer was going to die!" Mimir stuttered for the first time in his newest body. "I can't see anyway to kill him and disarm the nuke in one go!"

"And Ares and I are too far to reach and sever the bomb." Fuxi stated.

"Damnit... Are we useless to the situation!?" Richard demanded.

Suddenly, a few white souls deviated from the running horde of souls, and leaped onto the limbs of the hulking Lucifer, causing him to fall.

"WHAT!? THIS CANNOT BE! I CAN'T BE DEFEATED BY MERE SOULS!" Lucifer shouted, as the souls dragged him down into the abyss. "I AM THE GREAT LORD OF HELL, LUCIFER, AND I SHALL NOT DIE! I WILL NOT! I WILL NOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT!"

The souls took him into the endless abyss, before there was a white flash of light from the background, indicating the nuke detonated safely in the abyss.

' _Rest in peace, brave souls._ ' Richard thought wiht melancholy, to respect the souls that sacrificed their escape to save others. ' _When I gain the power to resurrect and turn back history, I'll come back here and save those who died tortured and broken here._ '

Richard let out a solitary tear, as the screen begins to get brighter, as souls begin to turn back into their wispy forms, flying up to the surface world, to be reborn.

"Looks like our job is done. Go us!" Ares cheerfully roared, before he then disappears in a flash of red pixels.

"Although I didn't do much, I still got my experience with this version of magic. This is truly a beneficial experience for me." Mimir stated, before disappearing a flash of blue pixels.

"And once again, I prove my skills have not waned over time. Forgotten, perhaps, but when remembered, still as potent as they were in the past." Fuxi said, before disappearing in a flash of green pixels.

The screen begins to lighten up, as the screen almost turns completely white.

Richard then feels a force pulling him out of the wooden seat he was on, and saw that the computer was becoming increasingly bright, until he felt the white light consume him with maternal warmth, before his consciousness drifted away.

* * *

Richard then woke up on the floor of the Core, with the Creator looking over him.

"Richard! You're awake! I thought that your soul was gone forever!" The Creator said with relief expressed in her voice.

Richard then noticed that there were streaks of tears coming down her face.

"Heh. I never thought that you would care for me as much as you would be if you were my mother." Richard responded.

The Creator blushed slightly at this, and Richard, noticing that he is going a bit too far, stopped talking.

He then looked up, and saw the same avatar in the more innocent version of Pony Island streaking across the space above the Core, and then winking at Richard, before disappearing.

Richard then got up, and saw that the rest of his team, Link, Zelda and Impa, were also relieved by Richard's return. Especially Link, who immediately hugged Richard.

"Richard! I thought that you were gone forever!" Link yelled.

Richard then patted Link's head comfortingly.

"I'm sorry for making you worry, Link. I promise that I won't be taken from you by some surprise being." Richard comforted him.

He then looked the rest of team, which was Gus and Antonio, who were smiling at the return of their friend.

"Apologies, everyone!" Richard shouted. "I'm sorry for being so selfish by letting only myself be sucked into that portal! Will you forgive this young hero for his mistakes?'

"You don't have to apologise. After all, we're friends, right?' Gus replied.

"Ah, I had worse situations, some involving me hurting my own friends.. We are still warming up to each other, but returning from some unknown portal just showed me that some respect for you is recommended." Antonio said.

"As long as you have stayed along the side of the good, you are forgiven by Hyrule and me." Zelda said.

"Well, I wouldn't say that I would forgive you just yet, Richard. I should be punishing you for this selfish act, but I'll let it slide if you're so sincere about it." Impa responded with a smirk.

Richard thought about what she meant by punishment, and shivered when said training might be a spar that will beat Richard black and blue, full of bruises.

Although Richard could use his Super form, which he had in Sonic Generations, he would be stronger than her only in that time, and she would outlast him with defence, and he would soon lose the form and be back in his disadvantageous situation. Therefore, Richard is still lagging behind in the team in terms of power, with only Gus below him, but that's only because he came after Richard and hasn't seen battle yet.

Richard may be strong enough to defeat the creatures of LoZ, he has a long way to go before he can fight seriously in battles.

But still, he still has his sweet time to relax and recover. Although the world wasn't corrupted by the darkness, it was still a hard battle for Richard, considering there were a lot of challenges back there.

Richard then walks to where Gus is.

"Say Gus, are you sure you want to go with us this time?" Richard asked. "After all, you were taken by the Time Eater in the last world we went to, and I don't anything more worse than that happening to you."

Gus only just showed Richard a determined look. "I can't back down now, Richard. Although I may be of little help, with my basic magic, I have to do as much as I can to protect the multiverse. After looking at how strong that Time Eater was, when you fought it, I realised that if I don't fight, then there will be no future for the world we came from." He boldly said.

"I see... I thank you for standing by my side. I promise you that you and I will become stronger, and we will protect the multiverse together. If we fall, Gus, then we will fall together." Richard replied in a noble tone.

"We will."

Richard then went to where Antonio was.

"You know, Antonio. I've been thinking about you lately. I think that I should owe you something more than a apology." Richard said, before rummaging through his backpack, which somehow survived the entire trip, and pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald.

"A Chaos Emerald!? But how?" Antonio asked, surprised.

"The used up Chaos Emeralds fell to the ground, yet I saw one of the Chaos Emerald duplicate itself, as if it was thanking us for restoring the balance of time." Richard explained. "I took the clone of the purple Chaos Emerald, which radiates almost the same amount of energy as he original does. I thought about keeping it to myself to boost my own ability to combat the Darkness, but I believe that this power is best used by you, a direct descendant of a Chaos Emerald user."

"I.. I don't know what to say." Antonio stuttered, astonished, while taking the Chaos emerald.

"Then consider this a payment for my mistake back in that world." Richard replied with a smile. "Let this be a symbol of my friendship to you."

Richard then walked away, leaving behind a astonished Antonio, who is clasping the Chaos Emerald with both his hands. He then walks up to where the Creator is.

"Is there a new world for us to clear?" Richard asked.

"There is." The Creator said, before then creating a projection of the Starfox Universe. "Your next mission is to head for the Starfox Assualt universe. I sense that the Darkness are beginning to take control over there, and I even detect a signature that I have never seen before."

Richard frowns at this, but not because he hates the universe.

' _The problem for this, is because we know jack-squat about how to ride a Arwing, let alone operate it in combat._ ' Richard thought. ' _And since the Arwings are the main vehicle for the battle, it's basically making us almost useless there._ '

The Creator noticed the meaning behind the expression, before then opening a portal.

"What's this?" Richard asked, looking at the portal, and seeing outer space on the other side.

"I knew that there would be a problem about anyone having to adapt to the different universes. So I created this dimension." The Creator explained. "I nicknamed this dimension 'The Training Zone', due to its purpose. This dimension can be easily be changed to create a environment for the people to adapt to the universe. In this case, I created a empty outer space zone, so that you can get used to the Arwings. This dimension is already created, so it won't cost me much power to mold this universe into what I desire. As for how you will learn, the dimension will slowly upload the information you will need in the universe, such as the knowledge to operate a vehicle like the Scorpion."

"So basically, it's a training zone for all of us?" Richard asked.

"It is, except it can train any aspect that you and I can wish for." The Creator replied.

Richard began to smile at this.

' _Guess the Creator already planned for such problems. I should have known._ ' Richard thought.

Richard then turned to beckon the others, who came over. He then repeated the explanation to the others, and even added. "It will help us adapt to any wprld we come across.". He then explained the Starfox Universe to them, and they all absorbed the information, before the entire group went through the portal, preparing themselves for the next world.

* * *

 _50 minutes later..._

The Training Zone was something that took account of time, and maximised time efficiency by slowing time inside of the dimension. As they came through, a minute outside would turn into a day in here, just like Instant Dungeons dilate time inside it as compared to time outside it. After 50 days in the training dimension, the entire group were equipped with enough knowledge to pilot a Arwing, and even hosted mock dogfights to train themselves in ace-to-ace combat, in both sky and space. As shown by the training, Richard was more of a aggressive type, as he always challenged his enemies head on, risking his own strength to severely damage a enemy. The rest of the team were more sensible, with Zelda always avoiding being locked into dogfights, and Impa shooting all in her way without any hesitation, Antonio always shooting from a long distance, like supporting fire, Link always trying to cluster enemies together to kill in one charged shot, and Gus being a all-rounder for tactics, making him hard-to-predict.

They also learned to use some of the weapons in the Starfox Universe. Link swapped out his sword and shield for a more modern version, now using a beam sword, and a yellow glowing shield with the Hyrulean Insignia on it. Antonio followed along Shadow's weapon of choice, which is having dual blasters in his hands, and he was truly versatile in skill with these weapons, often showing off by accurately shooting all things around him in a spinning motion. Zelda, being a bowman, has used a laser rifle, to pick off enemies from long distances. She has come to love modern weaponry, when she realises these weapons allow her to help others without risking herself. Impa, being a more aggressive warrior, chose to use a rocket launcher, as she states 'it's a weapon that will show no mercy to all before it.'. Gus kept to his instincts and chose a assault rifle. Richard, being a freak of rapid-fire, chose it use a heavy laser machine-gun, which only slows him down slightly, and uses a laser pistol as a backup weapon in case he needs mobility.

They all came out, being more accustomed to the Starfox universe.

"And now, it's time." Richard stated.

They were now looking at their arwings, stacked in a V formation with Richard and Gus on the back-most row, Link and Zelda after them, Impa and Antonio in the front. The arwings kept the same shape as the ones Starfox uses, except the wings are more sharp, and the head of the fighter crafts are more round, showing the increase in armour to boost durability, the weight counter by the sharper wings, and their crafts are painted silver on the body, and golden on the wings, the colours being identical to the colours Heaven's Will. Richard's Arwing has a insignia of the golden chi symbol painted on the left side of the body, below of the cockpit, Impa has a insignia of a arcing slash wave, Link has a insignia of the the Master Sword being sheathed behind the Hyruliean Shield, Antonio has Shadow's symbol as the insignia on it, and Gus has a burning flame insignia, and Zelda has a insignia of her bow on it.

They boarded their craft, before activating the system as they have in the 50 days in the dimension, and were accustomed to whirring of the fighter's engines, before a portal leading into the Lylat System of the universe. The rest of Richard's team launched off first, with Richard and Gus remaining.

"Cross to all! Cross to all!" Richard called through the comms, which kept the face image of the pilots. "Do you all copy? Is the trip successful?"

"Guardian here." Link responded, his hat taken off to reveal his blonde hair. "All systems green."

Richard was doing this, because he wanted to check to ensure that the custom Arwings created by the Creator are working properly, and to test if the rest of the team will use the call signs that are assigned with. Cross was Richard's, and Guardian was Link's

"Artemis here." Zelda replied. "Trip is very smooth, Cross."

"Slash here." Impa called. "Weapon systems are in perfect condition."

"Shadow here." Antonio responded. "Thrusters and boosts are all functioning."

"Alright, time to join the tango dance, Burn?" Richard asked Gus, through their callsigns.

"Let's go, Cross." Gus replied. "It's time to take down all threats."

The two arwings launched off from the centre of the Core, and flew through the portal into Lylat space.

* * *

A/N: And that's the Pony Island Arc done. Sorry if you guys didn't like it. I thought that Pony Island was a good indie horror game, so I dedicated a arc to it. And now, we get onto the Starfox Assault arc, where a surprise awaits Richard and co. Anyway, the only reason why Link, Zelda and Impa are friends with Richard, is because of this plot hole I left on purpose. Think about it. It doesn't take just a few seconds to travel from one battlefield to another in just a few seconds like the game. During the trip, Richard would sooner or later socialize with the heroes of Hyrule, hence the reason why they are friendly to each other. I may add a omake to show how the relationship as friends came to be, but not until I get more visitors. I don't expect a swarm of people reading this, but I rather have more views and likes than the accursed click-bait stories.

Anyway, what happened to Hopelesssoul? That's a secret that will be unveiled in a future extra...

By the way, submission for your OCs in the stories are still allowed in this story, so send me a message with details about your OCs, and it's in like it easily.


	16. Chapter 8: First Contact

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 8: First Contact

* * *

Richard looked through the cockpit of his Arwing. After a bit of cruising around the Lylat System, they were finally at a warp-point, where they can warp to Fortuna, where Star Fox will be first encountered. Although Richard was calm and steady, he was actually joyous about fighting alongside his favourite heroes. A otaku's dream, fulfilled by him in a instant.

However, he calmed himself in the instant, reminding himself that this was no longer a game. Everything that happens here is as real as it can be, and he cannot afford to make mistakes on the field. Being the leader of the team, he was more refined in reflexes and strategy, and even decided against using his chicken method, where he would charge at the opponent directly, guns blazing to kill the enemy, as he decided that it would result in more risk than benefit.

They tested out their new weaponry on stray asteroids and debris. Like the game lets it, picking up ball of residual energies, known in the game as 'Laser Power-Ups' will power their weapons to be stronger, up to 4 stages instead of the usual 3, but the effect fades once they are out of combat, or idling for a long time. Unlike Star Fox, their lasers are yellow, and although they bear the same ablity to bear dual lasers, the third stage of the weapon was different, depending on whose craft it was.

For Richard, his third-tier weapon was rapid-fire orange laser beams, that fire three times faster than its lower tiers, but loses the ability to charge shots. Link's third-tier weapon is more defensive, as his lasers will would now bear miniature shields that can block some shots that pass through the bolt, making it easy for Link to fire and defend at the same time, and his charge shot creates a thin barrier around him to defend him. Impa's third-tier weapon is more offensive, as her lasers are swapped for green beam waves, which can pierce through enemies to maximise damage against crowds of enemies, and her charge shot is a multitude of homing beam waves that seek on the nearest enemy, although they lose their piercing capabilities. Antonio's third-tier is more anti-fighter, as his shots gain minor homing capabilities, and can lock on to as many enemies as he wants, and his charge shot allows him to fire from the front a small white laser beam that will destroy all in front of him. Zelda's third-tier weapon allows her to fire faraway, as she will fire large yellow beam arrows, which fire at a very slow rate, but have a infinite firing range. Her charge is a cluster of smaller beam arrows centred on one spot, to maximise ranged damage. Gus's third weapon is two purple plasma beams that latch onto the closest enemies, and continuously damage them until they are destroyed, and he too, like Richard, cannot use charged shots, but his weapons restrain the enemy, allowing his allies to quickly finish the job for him.

The fourth-tier weapons are basically upgrades to the weapons of the previous tier, as Richard's firing rate increases, Link's laser shields and barrier are stronger, Impa's beam waves are much wider, Zelda's arrows are made to shoot faster and are larger, Antonio has a increased lock-on speed, and Gus's plasma beams will split into two, allowing him to attack 4 enemies at once.

The custom Arwings also have different bombs, as Richard has a metal sphere that will shoot a multilude of lasers at a very fast rate, creating a sphere of beams that will decimate all in it. Link's bomb is a modified version to the one he uses, and anything caught in the explosion would be either severely damaged or destroyed, Impa's bomb is a energy sphere that would bounce off enemies continuously for a set amount of time before disappearing, Antonio's bomb engulfs his Arwing in a blue energy field, and ramming enemies at high-speed, puncturing through the enemies and leaving Antonio undamaged from the action, Zelda's bomb allows her ship to fire a humongous light arrow that will destroy all in front of her, and Gus's bomb involves a elertrical field being formed in the space surrounding Gus's Arwing, which will cause enemies to shut down, like a self-defence mechanism.

The Arwings were not the only things that changed for the team. The entire team has swapped their threads for something more modern. Richard now wore a green camouflage suit,with red Sergeant-Major emblems on his shoulders, and the golden chi symbol embroided on the pocket over his right breast. The rest of the team wore pilot suits, with the golden chi symbol on the right side of the suit, without the helmets, with each looking different. Link, Zelda and Impa all wore green pilot suits, with the left side of the suit having the yellow Hyrulean emblem. Gus wore a orange suit, with red flame decals along the lower part of the suit, and Antonio had a blue suit, with a black and red velvet vest over it, with the Sonic emblem on it.

"Alright. It's time for the real battle." Richard says through the comms system. "You all ready to go?"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be Richard." Gus replied.

"I hope I meet Fox... It's been ages since I met him." Link said.

"I'll be fine, Richard. Let's go on and save the Cornerian army." Zelda responded.

"Ready to go, Richard!" Antonio called out.

"Don't think that you got the advantage of being used to this, Richard." Impa stated. "I'll show you that I excel at all."

"Right then!" Richard calls out, activating the beacon. "Golden Hawks..."

A blue warp portal appears in front of them.

"MOVE OUT!" Richard finished, as the entire team go through the wormhole.

* * *

LOCATING TARGETS...

...

TARGETS ACQUIRED. CONNECTING...

SUCCESS! ACTIVATING COMMS.

OK

 _Current Music: Mission Briefing (Star Fox Assault)_

A golden VR room appears, with the Core in the background, before the rest of the features come. There is a title on the top of the screen, with the words "FIRST CONTACT" written in white futuristic letters in a yellow box, and the words "INSIDE FORTUNA WARP-POINT", and a 3-D map appears in the middle of the screen, with two large boxes on the side, representing the current speakers. Currently, they are blank, before the left one acts up, and Richard's image appears from the head down to the waist.

Richard: Alright, listen up, teammates. We are about to become a part of a large-scale battle. Above Fortuna, the last battle between the Cornerian Army, and the remnants of Andross's army, led by none other by the mad doctor's own nephew, Andrew Oikonny.

The 3-D map then shows the two sides as blue and red triangles, respectively the Cornerian Army and Andross's army. Some of the triangles are larger and/or longer, representing space destroyers or fleets, and the flagships of each side are shown by markers larger than the other markers. One of them was General Pepper's ship, and the other is Oikonny's ship. Currently, the blue triangles outnumber the red triangles.

Richard: Right now, the situation would have be in the advantage of the Cornerian army, due to having larger numbers, but...

The 3-D map then shows groups of translucent red triangles on the left and right of the solid triangles, with a yellow caution sign painted in the middle of each group.

Richard: There's a ambush in the front, made by enemies that are camouflaged. If the ambush is allowed to happen, the Cornerian army's advantage will be nullified by the element of surprise. Our only possible action to counter this is to spring the trap ourselves, before that can happen.

On the left side of the map, there is a blue circle that represents the entry point of Richard's team, and in front of the circle are six green triangles, each having different letters, 'C','B','G','A','W' and 'S'. These represent the Golden Hawks, with the 'W' being Shadow, 'S' being Slash, and the rest of the triangles being marked by the first letters of their code-name. Cross's and Flame's markers have a green arrow that point a location near the stealth troops of the enemies, with the rest of the team pointed towards certain areas in the enemy's fleet.

Richard: Burn and I will intercept the ambush troops, and attempt to communicate with the Cornerian Army, and confirm our purpose as their allies. Slash, you will take down the carriers with your wave beam weapon. If you haven't got the weapon, then try to find a way to get the weapon. Shadow, you will intercept the fighters, due to your homing capabilities, which are ideal to take down enemy fighters. As for you, Guardian and Artemis, you will assist Star Fox when they arrive, and make sure that they do not sustain much damage. If possible, I will rejoin with you two and assist Star Fox. Anything to say, team?

Gus: I have none. This battle will be hard, but we will prevail. I'm scared, but I've been trained against this fear.

Link: I get to help Fox? Oh man, he's going to be thanking me for this.

Zelda: Guess we can finally thank Fox for helping us rise in the ranks of Smash...

Antonio: Why do I need to say anything? I'm going to show the world how strong the Sonic lineage is!

Impa: I cannot object to helping a friend of lady Zelda.

Richard: Alright then... let's go, team!

* * *

Mission 1: First Contact

Above the lush planet of Fortuna, a battle of large proportions happen in the space above it, between the Cornerian army and what remains of the Andross Army, led by Andrew Oikonny. On a mission to locate the Darkness within the realm, the team must help Star Fox, in a attempt to draw out the Darkness quicker. They have arrived on the field earlier than Star Fox, in order to prevent the planned ambush by Oikonny. Follow your objectives and lower the enemies' combat efficiency, and prevail in this familiar battle.

Team Members:

Richard/Cross: Arwing combat

Impa/Slash: Arwing combat

Zelda/Artermis: Arwing combat

Link/Guardian: Arwing combat

Antonio/Shadow: Arwing combat

Gus/Burn: Arwing combat

Missions:

-Take out Andross stealth troops

-Escort Star Fox

-Reduce both enemy fighter and starship combat efficiency to 25%

-Take down Andrew Oikonny

* * *

 _Richard's POV_

 _Current Music: Space Battleground (Star Fox Assault)_

MISSION START!

This was in big white letters on my cockpit. Although the Arwings we use are customised, the cockpit remains the same, with the green glass still surrounding the cockpit. However, the new features are prominent. The cockpit HUD indicated the current hull strength of the fighter in a diagonal green bar, and the current power level of the weapon shown by a wave bar on the left, seperated into four columns, with only the first illuminated in a light yellow, indicating that the weapon is only first-tier. There was also a box below the cockpit, which would be the comms system, except there were five boxes, each with a green bar next to them. All of them were off, but the bars are all full with green, indicating that the entire team are unscathed.

I looked out of my own cockpit, and enjoyed the peaceful view of space. Too bad it's about to get ravaged fast.

The battle has already begun, and there was little time before the ambush would happen. I saw my team behind me in a V formation, and Gus next to me. My friends were marked by blue squares with their codesigns, indicating that they are allies. That's the joy of having a add-on IFF from Ace Combat.

Soon enough, the formation was beginning to peel off, as the rest of the team dispersed to their objectives.

"Slash moving out. Don't die on me, Cross." Impa announced.

"Shadow leaving formation to engage." Antonio added.

"Guardian and Artemis moving out of formation." Link said, while Zelda was silent.

"Copy all orders. Good luck to all for tango hunt. Commence operations now." I responded.

Soon enough, the rest of the team was out of sight, except Gus, or Burn, who was flying next to him.

"Alright, Burn, standby for my communication to Cornerian command." I stated, before I activated the signal location system in the comms.

"Acknowledged." Gus replied

Considering that I knew the world back to front, I also knew all bandwidths and channels for the communications of all armies, but I couldn't locate it, due to having to pilot the fighter with utter concentration. I also activated the visual jammer, so that my own image in their comms would be static. After all, the Starfox universe revolved around anthros, so it would be a real shock if a human was to suddenly appear in front of them, especially a young boy like me.

The signal began to ping, as the system scanned for signals, before a high-pitched ping is heard, indicating the success of the connection.

"-Get the men ready! I need all hands on decks!" General Pepper ordered, before noticing that the comms are open. "What!? Who are you, and how did you manage to get into our comms!? I demand you explain yourself, or we will not hesitate to treat you as a hostile!"

"Funny, General Pepper. I should be saying the same thing. No hostile that we fight ever lived to tell the tale." I replied. "But, worry not, General Pepper. We have come to assist you. In other words, I come to warn about a possible ambush. It's on the left side of the army. I recommend you either sweep the area with heavy fire."

"What!? You mean that there's a ambush in effect!?" General Pepeer shouted back, surprised. "And how can I trust you? For all you know, you could be a spy."

"Like I said, I have no ill intention towards you. In fact, we too seek Oikonny's end as well." I respond. "If you can't agree with me, at least consider these words."

"...If what you say is true, then we will owe you a favour then." The old general said, before closing the line.

"Alright, let's go, Burn!" I call out to Gus.

"Roger that!" Gus replies.

The two of us soon activate the extra boost thrusters on the fighter to reach the enemy. The resulting drag from the sudden boost in the speed was so great, that I was forced into my seat hard, unable to move my head back. However, we soon reached the destinations, and saw through our cockpit the currently hidden troops.

Time to ambush the ambushers. The element of surprise is with us.

"Let's show them they cannot hide from us, Burn. Fire all!" I command Gus.

We soon let out our yellow lasers, tearing the ships apart, with them panicking from the surprise attack.

"Wahhh! We're being ambushed! General Oikonny! General Oikonnyyyyy!" I heard the pilots of the squad call out, before they were silenced by explosions.

However, the explosions of the stealth squad has caught the attention of the others, and soon enough, they deactivated their cloak to activate their weapons, firing purple laser beams at us. However, such slow attacks cannot hope to hit us, the hardened pilots, as we made lazy feints while strafing fire. Soon enough, the squads were almost annihilated, but the rest are surrounding us, making it hard for us to manouevre in the limited space.

Suddenly, there were alarms blaring on the ship, but not from severe hull damage. We still haven't taken damage despite them boxing us in.

The alarms were warning us of a devastating attack heading for us, with a red triangle caution sign in my cockpit, a large blue laser in the middle of it.

"WARNING! MASSIVE BEAM APPROACHING ARWING. INITIATE EVASIVE ACTION." The female AI warned.

"Time to jet off, Burn!" I shouted to Gus.

The two of us weaved through the beams and escaped from the entrapment, before a large blue laser fire right into where we were before, annihilating the last remnants of the stealth squad.

"We did it, Burn! No more sneak attacks for these assholes!" I cheered through the comms.

Gus and I then regroup with Link and Zelda, just as soon as the Great Fox appears through a green portal.

Suddenly, the comms line opens, and on the other side is a very pleased General Pepper.

"I have no words that can express the gratitude that I have for you. You have saved many lives with this discovery." General Pepper said in a thankful tone. "Who are you people anyway? I'm surprised that you have Arwings of your own. I thought that only Star Fox pilots these fighters?"

"Well, I never properly introduced myself." I said, turning off the visual jammer, allowing the entire command room in the flagship to see my face. "My name is Cross, Cross of the free-lance justice team, Golden Hawks. We have come here because we have heard that there's a dangerous criminal by the name of Andrew Oikonny. We're no mercenary or bounty hunter, but we sure will fight for you if you will fight along with us. We're after the head of Andrew Oikonny for the good of the universe.

I could hear a few surprised gasps in the command room where General Pepper was, and even the old general was surprised.

"Oh my… A human? It's been many centuries since we had human contact." Pepper said, a bit surprised. "And you're a good first impression, to be honest."

"I see no reason to disbelieve you, General. I heard that you have met with our race once before, when you were a young and aspiring soldier." I smirk. "So we'll make this a return of the human-Cornerian alliance."

"Indeed. Star Fox have come for the same objective." General Pepper replied.

"Then we'll ally with them. Be sure to tell them who we are, though. And tell them the help I gave them as well." I said, before the comms line was cut again.

"Slash and Shadow, sitrep on situation, and current power level?" I asked through the comms.

"Slash here, several crusiers and carriers of enemy's first line of defense destroyed by me. No damages sustained, except for being slightly shaken from heavy fire. Weapons are third-tier." Impa responded.

"Shadow here. Most fighters have been destroyed, with the constant assistance of Slash passing by to target other large ships. Weapons are second-tier." Antonio replied.

"Copy that, all of you. All ambush troops are destroyed. Weapons of both Burn and I are at first-tier, unfortunately. What about you, Artemis and Guardian?" I asked again.

"Assisted Cornerian fighters with breach of several key points. Weapon power is second-tier for both me and Artemis." Link responded.

"Tch. Shame for me and Burn then." I sighed.

Suddenly, a Cornerian fighter appeared in front of us, and dropped two "Laser Power-ups".

"Special delivery on orders of General Pepper. Glad to be of service." The canine pilot of the support fighter said.

I smiled at this. Guess we're not going to be looking for power-ups any time soon. Gus and I collected the power-ups, and gained power to use the second-tier, the twin lasers.

"Delivery acknowledged. Thanks should be arranged for this. You have my gratitude." I replied through the comms.

"No thanks required. You help us, and we'll provide you with supplies to fight. Just like scratching the back of each other, right?" The pilot replied.

"Indeed." I smirked before closing the line.

I then see a green portal appear behind us, as we stand-by the area, taking pot-shots at approaching enemies brave enough to fight through the Cornerian forces. And out from it comes the white ship known as the Great Fox.

I then tune into the Cornerian comms, ready to listen in the conversation, and reply when necessary.

"Well Fox, looks like we're not too late." General Pepper said.

"Yup! Of course, General!" Fox Mccloud, leader of Star Fox, replied.

"It's just so crazy!" Slippy Toad, the engineer of Star Fox, exclaimed. "I can't believe Andross had so darn many troops left behind."

"They're almost all common scum in it for the money." Peppy Hare, the lone veteran of the team stated.

"Indeed, Peppy Hare. And they aren't worth the trouble." I reply.

I could smell surprise on the other side of the comms, even though I only heard a few gasps.

"Who the flipping heck are you?" Falco Lombardi, the avian cocky ace, replied. "Get lost, kid, this is business for the big men."

"Oh? Then, General Pepper, care to explain to them who I am?" I ask General Pepper in a slightly irritated manner.

"This here is no kid, Falco. The very person is a leader of a free-lance justice team Golden Hawks, Cross." General Pepper introduced me. "We never heard of them until now, but they sure set a good impression, by sweeping up chunks of Andross's army for us, and even intercepted the enemy's ambush. If it wasn't for them, then we would lose many men in the attack."

"So, in simple words, you should thanking me for doing your work for you, while you arrive slightly late to the fight." I taunted Falco through the comms. "You can't be a ace unless you are here when they need you."

"Why I oughta-!" Falco growled through the comms.

"Anyway, sorry for the insult, Star Fox. I have done you a great favour giving the Cornerian army more elbow space to fight with." I continued.

"You seem to be... slightly bipolar." Krystal, the female vixen of the team, bluntly stated. "Are you sure you should be fighting?"

"That's rude. And I have studied you all. Including the history of the previous generation. Star Fox, to me, you are a team of honour, who fight for righteous causes, although you do have a few problems to tweak with." I reply.

"I see then, that explains how you know my name then." Peppy said.

"Perhaps, and I'm sorry for what happened to you back when you were the previous generation. I do hope that you can recover away from the war." I politely replied.

"You seem kind, for a young soldier. Falco used to be like the usual young pilots. Cocky, arrogant and prideful." Peppy complimented me.

"Hey!" Falco shouted, offended.

"I'm no cocky boy, Peppy. Years of being a pilot for justice taught me that." I replied. "Anyway, I come to ask you, Fox, will you fight alongside us? We, the Golden Hawks, welcome all allies with open arms, and forgive all past sins."

"I see no reason to disagree. Are you going to cover us?" Fox asked.

"That's a job too simple for us. We will fly alongside you, but we will soon break off. So far, we got Slash and Shadow taking the enemy as we speak. Say hello to the good fox, eh, team?" I responded with a smile.

"You're not the only one who gets to fly these things, Fox." Link said, smirking.

"Link!? But how!?" Fox exclaimed, further surprised by the appearance of a friend.

"Let's just say that we change as time goes, Fox. We've been following this boy for a while. By the way, I should be Guardian here, so please call me that now on in battle." Link explained.

"I can do that, but it still surprises me, Guardian. I thought that you were universes away from us?" Fox said. "How did you learn to do all this?"

"Like I said, this boy is a great friend that helped me greatly in my own world. He protected every person as if they were all of worth to him." Link replied. "And that is why Zelda, Impa and I have chosen to follow him through the many dimensions to protect them all."

"Indeed. Fox Mccloud, son of the legendary pilot, James Mccloud, I have come to protect this dimension from the Darkness that come." I announced.

"The Darkness? Are they the enemy as well?" Krystal asked.

"When we finish this battle, I'll allow you to delve into my memories. There, you will see the entire truth for yourselves." I offered.

"We can agree with that condition." Peppy replied.

"But first, we still have a battle to deal with, Fox." I reminded Fox. "We will be right ahead of you. By the way, Zelda's codename is Artemis, so do well to remember it. Actually, let me send you the list of our names and codenames."

I vocalized the commands in my ship to send them the aforementioned list, and I could see that they were nodding in agreement.

"Alright then. Then let us work together to fight Andross's army." Fox said.

"And ROB 64 here will give you the supplies you will need! It's a win-win for you and me!" Slippy added.

I chuckled slightly at the optimism of the frog engineer.

"Then let's make a bet, Mccloud. My team have been well-trained to fight, and I will prove it well. How about we take score on our kills. If you can beat us in this bet, I will tell you everything, including information that I chose to withheld from you. But if we win, then you will join us on the journey to the other dimensions." I proposed.

Fox's expression didn't change, but I could sense his surprise.

He then laughed heartily at that defiant bet.

"Fine then, Cross. A bet it is. And I shall add another factor. We will also take note of the amount of damage that both teams take. They will also contribute to the bet. I can't have a reckless ally who gets himself destroyed too many times." Fox said with vigour.

I smirk at this, this is going to be a interesting rivalry.

"Challenge accepted. We will wait for you to deploy the Arwings."

And so, we did that. Soon enough, the blue and white Arwings of the team have been deployed, with each of the four-man team announcing their deployment.

"Fox Mccloud, leader, deploying!"

"Slippy Toad, deploying!"

"Falco here, I'm out and ready!"

"Krystal here, I'm ready to fight!"

"Good! Looks like you're all here. And Fox, don't come weaseling out of this bet when I win." I said.

"Likewise!" Fox replied.

"Guardian, Burn, Artemis, Cross, all here and engaging enemy! Team, time to roast the enemy army!" I ordered.

My squad and Star Fox have moved forward to destroy the front line.

"All ships, avoid the armada's fire! Aim for Oikonny's ship!" Fox said.

"Here we go!" Slippy said, before crossing across my Arwing.

"Slippy, you've already got bogeys on your tail!" Falco called out.

That was true. Slippy already got a few fighter on his tail. As much as I like to watch Slippy fumble like a novice, I prefer to save him the trouble, as I charge my weapon up to kill the chasing enemies in one shot.

"Uh-oh! I'm in deep trouble!" Slippy exclaimed, before the enemies opened fire, causing Slippy to frantically dodge. "Yikes! Help me, Falco!"

"Don't worry, I got-" Falco was about to say more. However, I already fired the shot, and destroyed the chasing enemies. "-it?"

"Sloppy, Falco." I scold him. "First rule of combat: Always have your weapon ready, or in my case, charged."

"Hey,Einstein! Why don't you mind your own beeswax!?" Falco growled at me. "What the heck do you have against me?"

"Oh, nothing. I decided to knock your pride a few notches down." I reply in a falsetto tone.

"Oh... When I'm done here, I'm going to get you back for this..." Falco said, as his expression was showing that he was simmering.

Feh. Falco's too easy to taunt.

"Do better, if you want to make me listen." I said.

"Uh, thanks, I guess?" Slippy told me.

"Thanks accepted. Don't expect me to save you again. Keep a eye out for enemies. I'm not going to risk heavy fire, just because you got surrounded by enemies due to being reckless." I replied.

"Aww..." Slippy moaned in disappointment.

"Like I would say, Cross. You seem to know how to properly fight." Krystal remarked.

"Let's not chat here, Krystal.' I respond. "I rather let you have your focus on fighting, just like I must. Perhaps after this, I might tell you about my past?"

"That would be nice, to learn more about the lives of the rumoured humans." Krystal said.

"CORNERIAN ARMY ARE INITIATING THIRD VOLLEY OF FIRE." ROB 64, the robot assistant of the Great Fox. "ANDROSS'S SHIPS ARE BEING DESTROYED ONE AFTER THE ANOTHER."

"Looks like without their ambush, they're falling like dominoes. Keep up, Fox. I don't want competition that is easy to surpass." I commented on that.

"I'm not done yet, Cross! Star Fox are the better ones for this fight!" Fox said in a noble tone.

"We,The Golden Hawks aren't giving any leeway for you to pass us. Fight well, Fox. Fight me with that fiery spirit that has been passed down from your father!" I boldly replied.

I then collect a "Laser Power-up", and I hear whirring as on the wings, the blasters on my wings withdraw into the aircraft, and are replaced by a more slender version of them, with clear pipes attached onto the barrel, with orange energy flowing right into the weapon.

"Sweet! Time for a bit of 'shock and awe' with these babies!" I blurted out.

"Well, that's different to the weapons we have. How did you manage to fit these weapons?" Fox asked me.

"These weapons are special to us, Fox, and only us. Each Arwing in our team have a different weapon that we use instead of the Hyper Lasers. In my case, meet my designated weapon, 'Sunder Sunset'. While not sacrificing the power of the lasers, this weapon can fire lasers at three times the rate as your weapons, and they are full-auto, meaning I can spray the enemy continously with this. Unfortunately, it cannot be charged, so enemies with heavy armour may be a problem for me." I explained.

"Wow... This is a engineer's dream... How did you build this special weapon?" Slippy asked me as well, and he was completely in awe.

"That's a secret that is withheld until you win the bet against me, or when you join my dimension-travelling team." I stated.

"OK! Falco and Slippy, take the left side." Peppy ordered. "Krystal and Fox, hit the right. Everyone strike NOW!"

"You better not withhold your power, Star Fox! I'm still waiting for the true power of your team to show!" I said in vigour. "Artemis and Guardian, support Falco and Slippy. Burn, looks like we're together again. We're going right!"

"Affirmative!" Gus said.

"Roger!" Link and Zelda said.

The team then split again, and we moved on to flank the enemy from two sides. There were a lot of fighters, mechas, and fleet ships in the way, but they all fell to my rapid-fire lasers.

"Feel the power of the sunset shredding your sides! You should be proud that this weapon will be your death!" I roared through the enemy comms.

"WAHHH! Somebody save us from this monster!" A generic Andross soldier cried in fear.

"Pull yourself together! A few fighters cannot hope to topple our fleet!" A commander of the Andross forces said.

We then approach the first line of defense of the enemy army, filled with mechas.

"Move back, Fox! Things are about to become super-dense!" I called out.

Fox heard my order, and the two members of Star Fox slow down, just before I launch my bomb, the dreaded 'Laser-o-sphere' right into the concentration of the enemy, and they didn't even have the time to react as the lasers tore their armour and system to shreds.

Suddenly, Impa flys by, and takes down a few larger ships in our way.

"Here's my way to pay back that favour for clearing out the enemies in my path." Impa says. "See ya, Cross."

"Keep the fight going, Slash, we're going to get out of this without any severe damage on us!" I rallied with my words.

"Right!" Impa answered.

I then notice that Fox's Arwing has taken some damage, and has a few black marks where the enemy lasers have impacted with hull.

"My my, Fox." I say, tutting. "Do use the barrel roll more, Peppy was right about it being a life-saver in situations like this."

"Tch. You're good at dodging in this kind of combat, to be honest." Fox replied.

"I spent years training for this. No attack can surprise me or Burn that easily." I answered.

We soon reach the final defence line.

"They're at the final defence line! Focus fire on the advancing Arwings!" The same generic Andross commander ordered.

"Give up!" I shout through the comms. "You think that you can beat me!? I'll tear you all to asunder if you get in my way to Oikonny! Run! Run like the cowards you are, and live the rest of your life in peace! And as for you, Oikonny, I'm coming for your red ass, so you better wash it before I kick it right back into Venom, prick!"

We then charge through a straight between two enemy motherships, where we reunited with the other team, with Link and Zelda.

"Star Fox is headed this way!" A ape soldier in the army announced. "And also some unidentified Arwings that are assisting them!"

"Star Fox, eh?" Oikonny said. "Work him over! And shoot all the other Arwings down!"

"You won't get me so easily, you long-faced coward." I hissed through the comms, without anyone hearing me.

I then concentrate fire right into a group of large spaceships, and they explode, creating a chain explosion that takes a large amount of ships with them.

With that, the last defence line of the enemy has fallen.

"They penetrated out last line of defence!" A ape soldier cried out.

"What!? Is this gold and silver Arwing a flying demon!?" Oikonny exclaimed. "Bah! I'll handle him and Star Fox!"

"What? Are you..." A ape soldier said, as Oikonny's ship then turns to planetside, through the atmosphere.

"Oh, hell no!" I cried out. "You ain't escaping us! Burn, Guardian, Artemis, it's time to enter Fortuna. Activate Terra Form!"

The form caused the two wings of our fighters to withdraw, before they are replaced by thin wings, to minimise drag, with rudders on each wings to balance them.

"Let's move! Hustle!" I ordered, as we entered the atmosphere, as soon as Star Fox activated their G-diffusers.

Our Arwings begin to shake, due to the atmospheric air combusting all around us, and I was seeing through a sea of flames.

"Oikonny seems to have retreated into this planet. But he must have a plan. Take caution, everyone." Peppy advised.

"I'm not afraid of traps, Peppy. I'll break them easily." I assured him.

 _Current Music: Heroic Pursuit (Star Fox Assault)_

We soon pass through the atmosphere, and I soon saw that we were in a ridge of some sort, with lush green life growing on the grey rock.

"ROB! Find this blackhearted ape's location for us, now!" Fox ordered.

"AFFIRMATIVE! OIKONNY SEEMS TO BE IN A OPEN VALLEY JUST AHEAD OF A ENEMY LAND BASE!" ROB stated, with a monotone voice.

We soon pass through various caves, before disaster strikes for Falco, as he was soon locked on by laser tanks on the ground.

"Fox, these guys are all over me! Get rid of them!" Falco said.

Fox took down the enemy with a charged shot, and I even found a 'Laser Power-up', further increasing my firepower as my rate of fire increases to almost rival that of a laser minigun.

We soon reach the base, which was a set of roads connected to hangars in the cliff.

"Fox, here's a good chance for you to even the scores with us. We're far ahead of you for now." I advised him, before dropping a Bomb pickup. "Use this well. You better not waste this opportunity to do some heavy damage."

We soon pass through the gates of one of the hangars, after destroying countless roads, tanks and turrets, where a multilude of fighters have appeared to ambush us.

"Move back!" Fox commanded.

I did exactly that, before Fox fired a Smart Bomb, a bomb that absorbs matter around it to expand its area of effect. The enemy were helpless to this weapon, and were all gone in a matter of seconds.

"Good! Looks like you got some good tactics!" I complimented him.

"Thanks." Fox replied to thank me.

We soon pass through the base, which seems to be smoking from the heavy damage courtesy of us, before we found Oikonny's ship ahead.

"End of the line, baboon! Time for you to die!" I exclaimed.

"Bleh! Persistent little pests, aren't you?" Oikonny spat, before he turned his ship around to face us. "That's enough hide-and-seek. Let me show you my true power!"

His ship then began to transform, as his wings soon became mechanical hands, and the front of the ship was shifted up to form a robot version of Oikonny's face. Basically, it has become a copy of Andross, with Oikonny's face.

"I must bring an end to my relationship! Consider you all... TERMINATED!" Oikonny said, before he then shook his mechinical hands, and laughed.

"You think that making a copy of your own father's weapon will save you? Think again!" I said, before Star Fox, and my team advanced to attack.

 _Current Music: Emperor's Coming (Oikonny's Boss Theme, Star Fox Assault)_

He then draw back his left hand, and did a beckoning gesture.

"Shield analysis complete. Bringing it up on your monitors." Slippy informed everyone, as Star Fox got the data for the remaining hull on the enemy.

"What is this, some Andross wannabe?" Falco asked.

"I don't give two damns for what that thing is. It's going to be a smoking heap of scrap when we're done with it." I darkly threatened.

"W-Watch your mouth! I'll show you!" Oikonny said.

He then drew back his left hand, preparing to swipe us out of the sky with his giant hand, but the blue energy core on his hand was exposed, allowing us to damage it.

"Now! Fire at that core!" I ordered my team.

We all fired on the exposed core, with Star Fox, causing the core to overheat into a red colour before exploding, and Oikonny shakes his hand, which soon becomes paralysed.

"Good teamwork, Star Fox and Golden Hawks!" I complimented everyone.

"Guess our training paid off, Cross!" Link cheerfully replied.

"Gah! It's not over yet!" Oikonny exclaimed, as he slams his right fist in a tantrum, before then throwing it at us, and we dodged it by slowing down slightly.

We then shoot the exposed core on the open hand, and with that, Oikonny's hands are all paralysed.

However, he seems to lift his craft up and laugh maniacally.

"Is that all you fools have got!?" Oikonny taunted us, pointing at us with his broken right hand of his craft.

"Says the guys who is helpless!" Falco retorted.

"I am the one and only true heir to the great emperor Andross! The new emperor: Andrew Oikonny!" Oikonny said, raising his mechinical hands to the air.

I then hear alarms blaring, and the same laser caution sign appeared on my cockpit.

Shit, guess that Aparoid is widening it's firing range.

"Oh crap! Everybody move back! There's a big laser that is about to vaporise all of us into dust!" I screamed out to everyone.

"Yikes!" Slippy exclaimed, as we moved back, before the area we were at was bombarded with purple lasers, which penetrated Oikonny's ship.

"Uncle Androooooosss..." Oikonny called out, before his craft was surrounded by a ring of explosions, that tore the machine apart.

"What? Reinforcements?" Fox questioned.

"I don't think that's support fire from our allies." I replied with suspicion.

Suddenly, the gray segmented shell of a Aparoid falls in front of us.

"Oh god no! It's a Aparoid!" I exclaimed, to avoid suspicion.

"A what?" Falco asked.

"A Aparoid. It's something that we have fought in our travels. This being can infect anything mechinical and bend it to their will, and worse, they're a hive mind, so if one is here, pray to whatever spiritual being you have that there's no more coming!" I explained.

It then opens up, exposing it's 8 purple scale wings, and releases a screech with a pitch that rivals metal grinding on metal.

"Such strange thought patterns..." Krystal commented.

"Krystal, stop. If you keep doing that, you will lose your mind in the collective consciousness of the hive mind!"

"An Aparoid... No!" Peppy said.

The Aparoid then folds its wings forward as energy charges in front of the insectoid.

"Oh shit, move, NOW!" I ordered everyone.

A thin orange laser beam shoots out of the centre, and then aims for Krystal, shaking her as the shot misses her very closely.

"AH!" Krystal cried.

"Shoot the wings! They gather energy for the Aparoid!" Gus ordered the others.

We then aim for the wings, taking them out one at a time, exposing its branched skeletal wing-bones.

As soon as all the wings were destroyed, the insectoid then convulsed, flipping itself up and down, before then retreating back, and then turning back into its closed form, before then firing a laser at the ground, circling it around, before the ground that was heated exploded, sending a shower of rock and earth towards us.

"DODGE!" Gus called out.

"Aim for the Aparoid! It's central core is exposed!" I said, noting that the purple core has been exposed on its thorax, as it opens and closes.

The Aparoid then rushes in front of us, before firing orbs of energy that slightly hone at us. The barrel roll seemed to have no effect on it, so the only way to avoid damage is to weave through them.

Suddenly, it's thorax opens fully, as it lets out its screech.

"Will somebody slience this monstrosity!?" Zelda complained.

"Now, Fox! Ram a charge shot down it's pie-hole!" I ordered.

Fox then charged up his weapon, before firing a charge shot right into the core, which exploded, causing the Aparoid to screech to its death as it fell down to the ground, before the body then exploded in a show of light.

"Somehow... we beat it..." Krystal said.

"It took us in surprise, Krystal. I'm not surprised that it would be hard to fight against." Link said.

"Truly said, Guardian." She replied.

"It's such a strange creature." Fox stated.

I then saw that there was a Aparoid Core on the ground, a nucleus of blue and yellow molecules.

"What's that?" Fox asked, as he noticed the object as well.

"An Aparoid Core! We need that, Fox! Trust me!" I said, as I reached near it, and activated the tractor beam system.

Just as soon as the volatile core was in my posssession, I heard the Aparoid screech, and saw a wave of them coming.

"Oh... Naryu..." Link swore.

"We got company, guys!" Falco said.

"Goddamnit... We can't fight this many yet! We'll have to retreat from here!"

"But what about Fortuna!? What about the people!?" Fox asked.

"WOULD YOU RATHER DIE!?" I shouted back. "We can easily kill one, but this many? We'll be long gone before we can defeat a single Aparoid in that wave of them!"

"I see... Let's hope that all the citizens are evacuated from this planet." Fox said, as he led his team back to space.

"I hope so... That swarm would have set off the alarms already..." I replied, with slight worry, as I prayed for the safety of the people in the planet's residence.

We soon left the planet, as we saw a few clusters of Aparoids approach it from space.

God help these people down there... We done all we can...

* * *

AFTER-MISSION BRIEFING

Golden Hawk kills: 516 enemies +Aparoid destruction

Star Fox kills: 514 enemies + Aparoid destruction

Condition of ships:

Star Fox:

Fox Mccloud: Superficial damages- 94% hull integrity

Falco Lombardi: Slightly beaten -85% hull integrity

Krystal: Left Wing slightly damaged, minor to moderate damage -79% hull integrity

Slippy Toad: Moderate damages- 67% hull integrity

Golden Hawks:

Cross/Richard: Flawless flight- 100% hull intergrity

Guardian/Link: Slight grazes- 96% hull intergrity

Artemis/Zelda: Many grazes -92% hull intergrity

Burn/Gus: Frontal damage taken, minor- 85% hull integrity

Slash/Impa: Taken beam damage, moderate- 72% hull integrity

Shadow/Antonio: Flawless flight - 100% hull integrity

Dialogue:

Richard: Guess we won the bet, eh, Fox? Looks like you have to keep to your promise.

Fox: We'll talk about this later, Cross. Besides, how did you manage to get through this unscathed?

Richard: Good training keeps your wits sharp. I could see every attack and avoid it easily. The same goes for Shadow, whose focus is speed and agility.

Antonio: That's right! After all, I'm the son of the great Sonic.

Fox: You're the son of Sonic? Who are you?

Richard: You'll meet us when we dock into your briefing room. By the way, you would have beaten us if you took out that specific group of fighters. But still, we're no joke, and neither are you all.

Peppy: Good to see you all. I like to see the new pilots that showed much promise in this battle.

* * *

 _Inside the briefing room of the Great Fox_

 _3rd Person POV_

The entire Star Fox team are waiting in the briefing room of the Great Fox, where they are waiting for the team that fought alongside them so well.

"Come on... Where is that smart-ass that out-shined me in the battle... I want to put him in his place..." Falco grumbled, as he tapped his foot on the ground.

Suddenly, the bridge elevator sounded with a ping, as the doors open to reveal Richard and his teammates. He then walked out of the elevator, and approached Fox.

"It is a honour to meet you, Star Fox, in person. Especially you, Fox..." Richard said with a smile, before reaching out a hand. "... as I am glad to meet you in the flesh, not behind some screen. Allow me to introduce myself as Richard Liu, or better known as Cross on the battlefield, the young and fearless leader of the free-lance justice team, Golden Hawks. Let this be a greeting between the captains of two teams of pilots who fight for the justice of the galaxy and universe."

Fox examined the hand, before accepting it, and shaking it gently.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I never thought that my first encounter with the ancient human race would be with a young and skilled captain of a mercenary team." Fox said with respect.

"Well, mercenaries would be a less polite alternative to our job name." Richard replied.

The two of them then let go of each other's hand, just as Falco stomped his way to Richard, looking quite angry.

"Now that you finally had your fun, Richard, humiliating me on the battlefield." Falco growled, looking very angry, pointing a feathered finger at Richard, right near his neck. "I suggest that you let us, the pros, deal with problems in the future. Try to out-class me again, and I'll show you why I'm the baddest in the Cornerian Academy when I was young."

Richard just frowned at this, before pushing the finger away, before adopting a serious expression.

"Now you listen here, Falco. I rather you keep those insolent words to yourself, as you, a cocky and arrogant ace, who always gets himself into sticky or bad situations, doesn't deserve to mock or threaten someone like me, who has proven to be what he says. I am more competent than I can even say, and you're the exact opposite. You don't have the power to back your inflated words up. So I tell you this, piss ME off, and I'll show you that I can pluck your feathers off as easily as I can rip soggy paper up." Richard hissed back with cold anger.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!" Falco shouted, as he then threw a straight punch at Richard.

Richard saw the punch, and grasped it in his right hand, as he used his left hand to twist Falco's elbow up, causing the avian to squawk in pain.

"That's what you're going to do to anyone who out-class you, punch them?" Richard darkly taunted. "If that's what remains of the great ace Falco Lombardi, then I am severely disappointed. A strong pilot like you has sunken down to such low standards. It's so sad, that I don't care about this matter. Don't think for a moment that you're the greatest ace. I can name many aces that are stronger than you."

Richard then let go of Falco's arm, as the avian staggered back, and gave Richard a hateful glare, which rubbing his sore arm.

"So here's a nice piece of advice that I will give you. Show me respect, lest I show you none, just like you did now." Richard advised.

Falco growled, as he hurriedly stomped to the bridge elevator, and rode it down, but not before he sent Richard a hateful side-way glare.

Fox then looked at the elevator before turning to Richard.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Richard. Falco never does take it lightly when someone out-classes him. The last person that did got a broken and bloody snout." Fox apologised.

"It's not a matter to me, Fox. You don't need to apologise. All I care now is if he can take my advice seriously, or it will just bounce off his thick skull." Richard replied, slightly calm.

He then turned to Krystal. "And now, like I promised, I will let you search and scour my memories for the information you need." He said politely.

"I see. Can you please close your eyes and stand still, while I tap into your mind." Krystal instructed, as Richard obeyed, eyes closed and body still.

Krystal then laid a hand on Richard's head as she searched through his memories.

But she was surprised by the information in there.

In his mind, she found the answers she was seeking. She saw how the Aparoid war ended, with the entire Star Fox team destroying the Aparoid Queen, who was the hive-mind that Richard spoke about, and how Peppy sacrificed the Great Fox to open the way for them. She saw that Richard watched the entire battle in some sort of game on Youtube, and she saw how Richard came to be the saviour of the multiverse, with the divine appearance of the Creator shocking her greatly, and how he met and befriended Link, Zelda and the bodyguard, Impa, and how his friend, Gus, fell into the Core, the nexus of the multi-verse, and how Richard teamed up with the various Sonics of the timeline to fix the broken histories, and how Richard mistaken Antonio, the son of Sonic in the future, as a imposter, and how Richard made up for the mistake, and finally, how the entire group entered a training dimension to get acquainted with the universe that they were about to enter.

Krystal was so stunned by the information, that she staggered back, releasing her grip on Richard's head, and was dazed by the information that Richard knew.

"What is it, Krystal? Did you find anything useful in Richard's head?" Fox asked.

"I... I cannot explain this in a short amount of time." Krystal said, as she prepared to divulge the information.

Krystal then began to explain the story of Richard, and how the Aparoid war was going to go, and Richard's true intentions to fight the Darkness, a collective organisation of beings who sought to turn the multiverse in nothingness, and that the Darkness have entered this universe, and Richard must team up with Fox, just like he teamed up with Link and Sonic in their respective universes.

"Wow... So our lives were recorded by some mysterious being?" Slippy said in awe.

"I can't believe it... I must take precautions to protect the Great Fox against Aparoid infection." Peppy said.

"So that's why you made that bet. You wanted us to comply to join your team to save the multiverse from a greater evil than the Aparoids." Fox said, surprised. "But why didn't you tell me this, Richard?"

"I can't just tell you everything straight away, Fox." Richard explained. "You wouldn't be able to trust me that quickly. So I planned to fight alongside you to build trust, so that you will later become my ally in the fight to protect the multiverse. Although I'm surprised that you are taking this information quite well."

"We have seen lots of surprises and miracles. This is not very hard to understand in comparison." Fox replied.

"Then thanks for understanding Fox. I appreciate it." Richard replied.

Suddenly a large screen activated, and on the other side was General Pepper.

"Members of Star Fox and Golden Hawks... A grave danger looms. The Lylat System is in peril." General Pepper solemnly said.

"Because of the Aparoids, General. They have returned again. We have encountered them once on our travels around the system, but we almost lost our Arwings to the fight." Richard said.

"Indeed. The research director will brief you on all the details." General Pepper agreed.

Suddenly, Beltino's image in the space lab appeared.

"Hello again, everybody. And who's the human there? It's been centuries since we last saw them." Beltino Toad, director of the Cornerian Research Team, and the father of Slippy Toad.

"Dad! You're the research director? You never told me that!" Slippy said.

"You're not the only one who is hidden from information, Slippy." Impa comforted him.

"A-hem... Gee, I guess not." Beltino nervously replied, before regaining his composure. "In any case, the aparoids, the enemies you faced earlier. I believe it was 17 years ago, or 18 years... A sole aparoid annihilated a whole fleet. We were somehow able to survive it, and destroyed it, but that's just a taste of what's coming..."

The screen then shows the aforementioned Aparoid tearing the ships apart in footage.

"We are currently analysing the Core Memory you found earlier. But we will need whole specimens if we are to understand them fully." Beltino said.

The screen then split, as Beltino was on the left side, and General Pepper was on the right side.

"We have detected a distress signal originating from the Katina outpost." General Pepper said, as a map of the outpost appeared with the footage of the smoking and damaged outpost. "However, we're unable to contact anyone there. We suspect aparoid involvement. You must find the distress signal."

"No problem at all, sir!" Fox said with a salute, before the comms line was closed for both General Pepper and Beltino Toad. "I'll head to the surface immediately. That distress signal shouldn't be too hard to find..."

"By yourself!? It's too dangerous. I'm going, too!" Krystal argued.

"No. I want you guys in Arwings, covering me from above." Fox replied.

"Well, you aren't going alone. I'm going with you, whether you protest or not. I need to regain my bearing on land if I'm going to fight on foot with my trusty gun. After all, I can't let you die before you keep that promise, Fox." Richard interjected, before turning to Impa and Antonio. "You're coming with me you two. I didn't let you guys have front-line experience, so this should compensate for it. Are you fine with that?"

"I'll be ready, Richard. The battle isn't that hard after we are trained to fight with these futuristic weapons. I will keep Fox alive at all costs, and none shall be free from my wrath." Impa coldly said.

"Who cares? I'm going to go and squish some bugs with you, Richard. I can't see anything more bonding than fighting alongside each other, just like my father Sonic and uncle Shadow did once!" Antonio cheerfully said.

"See, you're not alone here, Fox. We got your back, no matter what." Richard smirks.

"Then I'm counting on you three then to help me down there." Fox said. "Let's go!"

The crew members of both team entered the bridge elevator, preparing to head for the hangar for deployment...

* * *

Mission 2: Katina Base Assault Redux

A base on the surface of Katina, has ceased communications. The reason for this is obviously a assault, although the assailant of the attack remains unknown. However, it is shown that there is a invasion force of Aparoid approaching the base to infect it, so a quick sweep of the base is urgently needed. Richard, Impa, Antonio and Fox have went down to the surface, to investigate the situation in the base, while the rest of both teams stem the flow of the invading Aparoids. Little did they know that a major surprise awaits them...

Team Members:

Fox: Ground combat

Falco: Arwing combat

Slippy: Arwing combat

Krystal: Arwing combat

Richard/Cross: Ground combat

Impa/Slash: Ground combat

Zelda/Artermis: Arwing combat

Link/Guardian: Arwing combat

Antonio/Shadow: Ground combat

Gus/Burn: Arwing combat

Missions:

-Investigate the SOS signal in the base.

-Find all possible survivors and escort them.

-Protect Fox Mcclcoud

-Defend against Aparoid assault until reinforcements arrive or objectives are complete.

-?

* * *

 _Katina Base Delta_

 _Richard's POV_

We soon reached down to the arid planet of Katina, as we land on the dry ground with the Arwings. Fox landed first, before exiting his Arwing from his cockpit. I soon docked after him, and then slowly moved out of my own Arwing, before landing on the ground with my two feet. It seems gravity there is normal, so I can move normally here. Impa and Antonio soon followed, as the rest of the team were in the air, combating any aerial Aparoids.

We all drew out our weapons, with Fox wielding a blaster, me holding in both hands a laser machine-gun, Impa using a semi-auto plasma rocket launcher, and Antonio using dual blasters like his uncle Shadow.

I wore a yellow visor that tinted the world in that colour, with a HUD indicating the amount of laser shots that are in my current clip, and the amount of ammo I have in other clips on me. I also had a Halo mini-map, which was blue with yellow and red dots representing enemies and allies respectively. I also had a bar to indicate my condition or health, and there was also a icon indicating the condition of my teammates.

Luckily I use the same ammo as the armies here do. Otherwise, I'll face a ammo shortage. Right now, I have 300 'bullets' currently, with 100 in my gun currently.

"It's too quiet here..." Fox said.

"You can say that again. This better not be a trap for god's sake. I'm not going to be delivered to the enemy wrapped up in ribbons..." I replied with a metaphor, swinging my gun around to check for hidden enemies.

We soon entered the base through the gate, where the insides of the base were not surprisingly littered by the corpses of ally and enemy alike, but instead having only black scorch marks of a battle long gone.

"Something's not right here..." Fox commented.

Suddenly, alarms blared around us, taking us in surprise, as the gate closed abruptly behind us.

"Crap! I knew it! It was a damn set-up. That signal was a lure!" I said, readying my gun for whatever was in front of us by a few metres, as shown on the mini-map, by a cluster of red dots.

Suddenly, Aparoid crawlers appeared in front us, bearing a striking resemblance to giant ants, with their blue skin colour and armoured appendages. They then screeched as they headed towards us.

"It's the Aparoids after all..." Fox calmly said.

I steeled my resolve as I prepared to fight with a gun for my first time.

* * *

MISSION START!

 _Current Music: Frontier Serenade (Star Fox Assault)_

The four of us then scattered, as we took on the first wave of enemies with guns blazing.

Although the gun was heavy, I was able to keep the gun steady as the lasers beat upon the enemies and shredded their armour, striking flesh and blood of the enemies.

Impa then shot a rocket at a cluster of enemies, as it exploded in a purple sphere of plasma, vaporizing the enemies.

Fox even took a machinegun from a supply drop courtesy of Falco. He then proceeded to gun down some enemies.

"I don't think that these numbers are natural, guys! There's got to be something creating these bugs!" Antonio said, as he shot down a line of Crawlers heading for him.

"I need to look around. Anyone with me?" I asked.

"I'll go with you." Fox replied.

"Then we'll need to look around. There might be some spawner or something creating more of these monsters..." I said.

Suddenly two Aparoids in the form of a scorpion, or as I call them, Aparoid Stings, landed near us, before charging at us.

"HA!" I cried, as I filled the first one with bullets, as Impa took out one with a clean shot to the head.

Both Stings evaporated into blue particles. However, the Crawler swarm was getting heavy, and we were almost out of place to cover.

I soon then saw Fox behind a crate.

"Whew... There's no end to these things. There's not enough for the four of us to take care of..." Fox said, as he then opened up comms through his wrist communicator. "Peppy, send me a Landmaster, will ya?"

"On its way, with some alterations of course, for your friends. What's the situation?" Peppy announced.

"I think that having our space invaded by a damn swarm of Aparoids counts as a 'true emergency' here, Peppy. It's not funny to ask that question when we are at risk here." I interjected.

"Then it's done! Here's your Landmaster, you lot." Peppy said, as the Landmaster materialized in the centre of the field.

"Let me know if you get lonely, and I'll drop by." Falco said.

"Mind the air, Falco. You really need to keep your beak shut, and eyes on the air." I replied.

"Shut up, you." Falco insulted me.

"Likewise." I retorted, as I looked upon the modified Landmaster.

The new Landmaster had mounted pods on the left and right side of the tank, right between the main gun and the outer armor, held high enough to shoot around, and there's a ladder leading up to them. On top of the main cannon is a mounted pod as well, which can be accessed throung rungs on the cannon. All the mounted pods have a manual laser turret on it, that can be spun around 360 degrees to cover the tank.

"By the way, since you can't roll like this, Fox, we made a barrier that you can activate to enable the same effect of a deflection field like when you barrel roll, and we also added side thrusters to help you manoeuvre it better." Peppy added, acknowleding my doubts of being crushed into paste when Fox barrel rolls the tank.

"I got to kiss you for this, Slippy, if you did this for me. That's how much I owe you for this kind of upgrade." I replied with admiration.

"Guh! Let's not do that, ok?" Slippy said, shivering and frightened.

"Okay, fine. But either way, I'm going have to pay you back for this. Tell me what you want when we get back."

We then rush towards the Landmaster, as Fox enters the main pilot seat, and Impa and Antonio dock onto the side mounted pods, and prepare to cover the sides, as I climbed onto the cannon mounted pod.

"Okay, Fox! Let her rip a song of destruction and hell!" I called out.

"You got it, Richard!" Fox replied, as the hover-tank began to move.

We then swept around the base, moving across the back of the base, as Fox fired upon the enemies with missle and laser, while we covered his sides and back with our mounted turrets.

"Fox! I got enemies on my tail!" Krystal exclaimed, as she tried to avoid fire from the enemy.

"I got it, Fox! Keep on the enemies!" I said, as I directed my turret to the sky, and took down the pursuing enemies with good precision.

"Thanks, Richard, I thought I was done for." Krystal thanked me.

"Pleasure's mine, Krystal. We got your back when you got ours." I replied.

Soon, we took down all the Aparoid Stings that were inhabiting the base, with absolutely no damage to our Landmaster. However, I detected a allied presence near us, about 10 metres away as a yellow dot.

"There's somebody here that's not a Aparoid! I'll get off and inspect it. Cover me, Fox!" I called out, as I docked off the mounted pod, and ran towards the presence, shooting all in my way, and reloading while running.

Soon enough I found a Cornerian husky soldier who was bleeding heavily, evident on the red stain on the left side of his chest, that he was clutching, while moaning in pain. When he saw me, he rose a hand to defend himself as best as he could.

"Hey. It's alright. You're in friendly hands here. I'm here to get you out of here." I calmly said to him, while lowering my weapon, looking for Aparoids nearby.

"R-Really?" The shaken husky soldier said with a stagger.

"We have to go. I'll carry you across. Fox is here to help us. Up you GO!" I said, as I pulled him up, as I laid his arm across my neck, with his head on my shoulder.

"Hang in there, we're almost home-free." I said, carrying him across the field, using my pistol to shoot the head of anything in my way.

"They... The filth, Pigma. He attacked us, and let the Aparoids in..." The husky soldier breathed.

"What!? Pigma was here?" I asked, surprised.

"He made a fake SOS. He wanted you here to kill them all. No-one alive here, and I was going to die... He's here to collect the bounty for your head by luring you here." He continued.

"So he did this to you." I replied with seething hate. "You hear this, Fox?"

"Loud and clear. He's going to pay for this." Fox responded.

"We need to...Uugh..." He muttered, before fainting from blood loss.

"Rest. The Great Fox will help you get back to the fight soon enough." I said to him.

I then placed on a marked spot on the minimap, lying down, and then waved my hands towards the Great Fox's direction, as a green tractor beam transported the wounded soldier into the ship.

"Good job. When we nurse him back to health, he will help us force General Pepper to fight more seriously against the Aparoids." Peppy complimented me.

"Just save him. His pulse was fading in my grasp. If you're going to save him, do it fast and quick." I replied, as I went back into my mounted pod on the cannon.

Soon enough, Aparoid spores, which were basically alien barnacles that can move on clawed legs latched on various places, and spawned Crawlers and some Stings.

That did not surprise me, but what appeared to be a purple portal with a space-like tunnel inside of it, and what came out of it surprised me.

A modern pirate ship, floating in the air above the base. What would something like this be doing here!? This can't be something that is from this universe, but then again, neither was I or my team.

However, one surprise was followed by another, as I saw a figure stand boldly on the head of the ship. I squinted my eyes to see him better, as my visor zoomed the image into a pile of pixels. But as the image refined itself, the very person that came into my view surprised me, to utter awe.

"What. The. F**k." I swore unconsciously, uttering every word with pure surprise, as if it could lessen the impossibility that is seen in front of me.

* * *

A/N: And so, there you have it. We have the first chapter of the Starfox Assault arc. Who was that person, anyway, to have surprised Richard to utter awe and shock? We'll find out soon enough. Hint: Keep an eye on the pirate who wields the Keyblade...

Note: The tiers of the weapon are a nod to the three levels of the blasters that Starfox use, from single shot, to twin lasers, to hyper lasers. I added a level and made the weapons different for each person to avoid plagiarism.

Disclaimer: I own only Gus, Richard and the Creator. All others are owned by their respective franchises.

* * *

Preview of Next Chapter: The Saviour and the Flash

 _Hi all! I have just escaped Lucifer's digital hell, and I have heard that the Starfox Universe was under attack by the Darkness. I swear to God... They always come late. I haven't seen one yet, but I suspect that the empty base is of their doing. But that's not the thing that I'm focusing on. A great dimensional traveller has come. He is the very Keyblade-wielding pirate himself, Captain Flash Dove._


	17. Chapter 9: The Saviour and the Flash

Chapter Rewriting Coming Soon.


	18. Chapter 10: To Kill a Pig and Realize

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 10: To Kill A Pig and To Realize a Truth

A/N: Flash, GC are property of ChaosFlash912, and Richard, Gus and Lingyue are my property, and Antonio is property of Panther J. The rest belong to their respective franchises, and are possibly OOC.

In the Previous Chapter:

 **"Come now, there's no harm done after all. It's an honest mistake."**

 **"It left me sorrow as well, Flash. But I assure you, I will do anything in my power to stop that incident happening. If there's a perso** **n fated to die in that incident, then I will take Mikoto's place for mine. I have had worse attacks than Ganglari spiking through my back."**

 **"You heard the lady, men! We have to get that Core Memory!"**

 **"I got good news for both you two, Fox and Cross. For us, Fox, we used a tracker that we fired onto Pigma's ship to track Pigma to the Sargasso Space Zone, where Wolf O'Donnell has a hideout at. And for you, Cross, repairs on the Royal Champion are complete. After negotiating conditions, we have formed a alliance with the man known as Captain Flash."**

 **"SAKURAAAAAA!"**

 **"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Panther Caruso… and all who see my rose meet death!"**

 **"I know. I won't be holding back my own skill and power here, if I'm to live."**

 _ **Guess I am still too weak.. to help people enough...**_

Opening 1: Fighting Stars

Featured Characters: In development...

* * *

 _In The Great Fox_

 _Richard's POV_

After having lost my conscious from the last fight, my memory of what happened during my recovery was blurred, to say the least. They were shown moment by moment in visions, like a trailer video for some video game, showing snippets of the story to come.

My first snippet was me looking up to the ceiling of the hallway in the Great Fox, as I was being moved across it. I only could move my eyes, only to see that Krystal and Fox were frantically pushing the infirmary bed that they put my body on. They were shouting out something, but I could only hear some of the words.

" _-hang in there, Richard! You have to stay strong! You have to-_ " Fox said to me, unaware of the fact that I could only barely hear him.

" _-You can't die! You're still too young to die such a horrid death! Don't lose conscious! Don't lose-_ " Krystal frantically said.

My body was covered by nothing but my own clothes, while I could barely see that there were a few patches of dry blood on the upper side of my body, staining the green camouflage suit. Could I have coughed blood while I was unconscious?

Then that vision began to fade out into black.

The next vision was gruesome, to say the least. I saw that Peppy and ROB 64 standing over my body, with Peppy wearing a surgeon's coat, and looking slightly bloody on the clothes. I could see that he was performing some kind of surgery on me.

All I could hear was his demands for specific medical instruments: "Scalpel!" "Syringe!" "Clamp!" "Drain!"

ROB 64 immediately kept the pace going, not leaving a single moment for Peppy to slow down.

I could feel no pain, and they did not realise that I was conscious, watching my own body being operated on.

"HIS VITALS ARE STILL NOT STABLE! WE MAY LOSE HIM IF WE DON'T GET HELP." ROB 64 mechanically warned Peppy.

"It doesn't matter! Our only choice here is to keep him stable, until we head back for Corneria, to get him to a proper hospital to recover and heal." Peppy said.

But my friends... What about them? What if, their Arwings crashed in the unstable weather there! Who will help them survive!? Flash may be strong, but even surviving a few days in the cold wilderness there would be a challenge to all people, skilled or not!

Then that vision began to end.

And then, there were a few visions of me laying in a hospital bed in one of Corneria's hospitals, with the Star Fox team occasionally visiting me, as if I was a good friend of theirs. I got to thank the fact that being together in this fight created a bond between me and the members of Star Fox. They occasionally said things to me, and even gave me a few flowers and get-well cards.

I could smile, if I wasn't unconscious, and then General Pepper came to my bed, before saying something to the doctors, and the doctors replied something to him. Pepper simply nodded, before leaving me, and the vision ended.

Soon enough all my visions came to a end, as I felt myself gain the power to reawaken myself and save my friends.

* * *

I soon woke up in a infirmary bed, and looked slowly around, seeing all the medical supplies around me, and deduced that I was in the medical bay of the Great Fox, considering I heard the thrums of a engine.

I soon begin to sit up slowly, before mentally probing my own body for any damage that remained. Surprisingly, the pain in my body was almost gone, now only a numbing throb in the centre of my chest. I immediately docked off the bed, got dressed back up from the hospital robe, back into my military attire, as I walked down the hallways of the Great Fox, and took the elevator to the bridge, where most of the team are. They seemed to be talking to Peppy about something, while being unaware that I'm awake.

"-can't leave with the Core Memory! We have to find him quickly! Scan the area more thoroughly!" Peppy said.

"Calm down, Peppy! We need to find some way to get rid of the Aparoids controlling the climate control centre, or we won't be able to use our Arwings to sweep for him!" Fox replied.

I soon approached them, before saying: "He's right, Peppy."

They soon turned to me, all of them surprised to see me like this.

"I see, so you really have fully recovered." Peppy said calmly, after coughing a bit to calm his expression. "I never thought someone like you would recover that quickly from something like that."

"Recover from what? My body was only internally injured." I asked, confused at what they are trying to tell me.

"No, Richard." Fox replied. "You were internally torn. When Peppy opened you up, he found that your insides were haemorrhaging profusely, and it was by luck that we could keep you alive long enough to get you to a Cornerian hospital, where they operated on you, and managed to stop it all, only for you to be in a short coma."

"I was... in a coma!?" I stated in shock.

"You were, kid." Falco said. "It was by luck that after a day or so, your body suddenly began to mend itself at a unnatural rate, and soon enough, after we opened up your body with a keyhole surgery, that we found out your body was fully recovered, with none of the scars. It was a miracle to us."

I could only remain silent at this news. _So my body recovered itself..._

"However, we didn't feel safe to get you to fight immediately, considering that you may injure yourself again." Krystal added. "We worry about your health, even if you aren't one of us."

"I see..." I muttered.

"Right now, we need to find a way to get rid of the problem of the weather, if we're to fly our Arwings to catch Pigma." Peppy added.

"Then you need to reboot the generator. If it's the same to the ones my race uses, then there's a generator that'll regulate the weather back to normal." I suggested.

"And I will go and reboot it myself. Send me a Landmaster down." Fox said.

"Playing the hero as always, eh Fox?" Falco quipped.

Fox was about to head down, but I had something to say.

"Oh, and Fox? One last thing I have to ask of you." I asked.

"Yes?" Fox said, turning his head around to address me.

"Find my friends and Flash's team down there. My teammates could have already been stranded down there by the weather. I pray to you that you can find them before matters get worse." I said.

And then Fox left the bridge, with the rest of his team following him, and only Peppy and I remain here.

"Why aren't you going, Richard?" Peppy asks.

"Because I doubt that I'll be able to help Fox on foot this time. After what happened to me, I'm not so willing to risk my life again. And my friends could be down there, and without my guidance, they'll be unable to fight properly." I explain.

"So you truly care for your friends." Peppy stated.

"Indeed."

* * *

MISSION 4: RESCUE AND RECAPTURE ON FICHINA

Briefing: Pigma has arrived at Fichina, and shut down the climate control centre in order to stop Star Fox from chasing him. Fox must now reboot the generator, and regain control over the climate control centre, while fending off multiple waves of Aparoids, and finding the whereabouts of Richard's team, who are considering to be stranded on the planet.

Fox: Ground combat

Falco: Standby

Krystal: Standby

Slippy: Standby

Richard/Cross: Operator role/Standby

Impa/Slash: Ground combat?

Antonio/Shadow: Ground combat?

Link/Guardian: Ground combat?

Zelda/Artemis: Ground combat?

Gus/Burn: Ground combat?

Missions:

-Destroy all shield generators

-Activate systems to restore weather control (Locked)

-Survive... (Locked)

-Defeat the Aparoid-infested generator before time runs out (Locked)

-Locate and reunite with the missing Golden Hawks and find Flash and his allies.

* * *

 _Inside the Great Fox_

 _Current Music:_ _Break Through the Ice Field)_

"ROB, scan the control center." Fox ordered through his comms.

"AFFIRMATIVE. THE CLIMATE CONTROL CENTRE IS PROTECTED BY A SHIELD." Rob announced for Fox.

"Hmm... So to get in, we'll need to get rid of the shield then." Peppy added.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Fox replied.

"But we don't have time to waste Fox. We need to get in there quick, so that we can deploy the Arwings to chase down that snivelling Pigma. It may be bad for the base, but we need to destroy the generators, if we're to get into the base quickly enough." I advised him.

"Don't go overboard, Richard. Generators like these require a lot of fixing to get back up again." Peppy warned me.

"There's no time for subtlety, Peppy. If we don't hurry, Pigma's going to get away." I replied to that.

I soon check the map of the battlefield, and see that Fox is currently the only one on the map, indicated by a yellow dot.

"Well, get going and do it! We're spinning our wheels here!" Falco impatiently snapped.

Typical Falco. He's always eager for action when there's a chance for him to do it.

"Careful, what you wish for, Falco." He said, as he began moving, as indicated on the map, he soon began to tread through the field, while using the Landmaster, indicated by a marker of the same shape from bird's eye view.

He soon then proceeded to wipe group after group of enemies marked by red dots on the map, before he manages to reach one of the generators, and succeeded in destroying it, as heard by one of his talks. "I got a generator down!"

"Looking good, Fox! Only two more shield generators to go!" Krystal cheered Fox.

Suddenly, I heard some static on my comms.

"...-An-ne t-re? - need he-!" A voice that sounded like Link's rang through the communications, although it is heavily covered by the static of a bad connection.

That answers my question about where my team was. Goddamn it...

"Guardian? Is that you!? Answer me!" I call out. "I order to answer me!"

"R-hard? Is t-t y-u?" Link replied, still with static "It's m-, L-k! W-'r- i- -e moun-an r-ge, i- a n-e-by c-ve! W-'ve b-en he-ped b- F-sh, b-t th-e a-e too-"

At that point, the comms lost connection with Link

"FUCK!" I cussed, slamming my fists on a nearby table. "Fox, do you read?"

"I read, Richard. What's the situation."

"My team is about to become Aparoid chow, that's what!" I snapped, losing my calm from the danger my team is in. "I managed to find out that they are in a nearby cave! You have to help them! I can't let them all go and die like that!"

I may not be a good leader for letting them go ahead without warning them about the situation at Fichina, but I refuse to let them all die because of this mistake!

"I see, Richard. Don't worry. I'll hurry there immediately." Fox calmly replied.

I was panting like crazy, and was utterly winded.

"Richard, calm down! Your condition is only going to get worse if you stay like this!" Krystal warned me.

"I... Sorry. I just..." I try to say, but the words were stuck in my throat.

Soon enough, the map begin to show a few green dots nearby, all bunched together and surrounded by enemies, with all of the green dots becoming more opaque the closer Fox gets to them.

"Thank god, I can hear you coming, Fox." Link said. "Help us get out! We need to get back to where Richard is!"

"I got you covered." Fox said, as he took down the surrounding enemies without much ease with his Landmaster.

"Richard, you still there?" Link asked through the comms.

I couldn't speak properly because of how I feel. I have failed my team for letting them be in such a dangerous situation, while I stand here only guiding them. This is truly a great shame and embarrassment for me, especially when I promised them that I would help them along the way.

"Guardian, he's here, but he's truly worried about you, and can't speak now." Fox said on my piece. "He in fact snapped at me to help you immediately."

"Fox, what are you doing!?" I shouted at him with anger.

"Richard?" Gus's voice rang through the communications. "Thank goodness you're here. Flash managed to help us survive for a few days on here. We found a way into the base, but we couldn't find a way to help restore the climate controls."

"Cross, if you can hear me, you need to take care of your mates more." Flash scolded me through the comms. "Sending them to a planet and not warning them about the dangers? I appreciate you trying to help your team, but that was not appropriate."

"I HAD NO CHOICE!" I snapped, as I slumped into a nearby chair, and began to hyperventilate and convulse violently, as the guilt inside me began to eat my emotion from inside out. "Do you know what happened, Flash!? I literally was at the edge of death from that battle. I didn't ask to be recovered! I didn't ask to be placed in a hospital to recover! And most of all, I didn't want Star Fox worrying over me! Do you know how much sorrow and pain I'm in!? I'm literally trembling from where I am! I didn't want problems for my team, but…. But….."

I soon began to cry into my legs, sobbing both loudly and pathetically.

"*sob*I only became a *sniff* damn burden, despite what I have done….*sob*" I said in such a guilty tone, trying to speak while I was sobbing and sniffing through the entire sentence. "*sob* I only wanted to stop them from being taken down by Star Wolf. *sob* They're too strong for my own team. That's why…*sniff*… That's why I sent you and my team to Fichina…."

There was a moment of silence, before someone spoke to break it.

"So you worked yourself out to try and get here quickly…" Antonio said in a calm and compassionate tone. "It wasn't your fault that you were so injured then. If you were that close to death, then why didn't you tell us? We could've come to an understanding."

"We can't blame you, Richard. You sacrificed yourself to save all of us from danger. That is always something that we repaid by staying alive for you." Impa added.

I try to calm myself down, before letting out a quiet and weak "Really?"

"We don't have anything to hold against you. You weren't able to warn us in time, so we can't possibly know about the dangers. So we forgive you, but please come with us next time, so that we will know what happened to you." Zelda replied.

I soon began to wipe the tears out of my eyes, and breathed deeply to calm myself down.

"Alright. I'm sorry for what happened then. Flash, are you the only one down there?" I ask, regaining my composure.

"I am. The rest of the team are actually waiting for my orders in orbit of the planet. That way, if Pigma tries to escape, he'll be long dead before he can do so." Flash replied.

"Good. Because today, we'll be repaying our 'debt' to him." I said, determined to end him once and for all. "Slash, Shadow and Burn, occupy the turrets on the modified Landmaster. The rest of you, keep close to Fox, and cover them. Flash, take care of my friends. If we can get the weather back to normal. I'll be able to repay the favour by covering them by Arwing."

"Roger!" My entire team simultaneously replied.

"I can do that for you well, Richard." Flash responded.

I soon look through the map of the battlefield, as I quickly check for the locations of my teammates, which are indicated by the green dots on the map, and Fox himself, who was marked by a yellow dot.

"Keep close, guys." I advise them. "I see a lot of Aparoid Crawlers approaching your position. Switch to any weapon that can deal a lot of damage in a area or line, as long it can hit multiple enemies in a short time."

"Roger." Fox replied, as he drove the Landmaster, which was outlined in yellow, and there were three green dots on the outline, indicating that there are three of my teammates on the turret pods of the Landmaster variation.

"I got it." Impa said, as she began to pick off the enemy with her plasma grenade turret on the Landmaster.

"Tch, they're just small fries to us!" Antonio said, as he gunned down the enemies approaching his side of the Landmaster, with a laser machinegun turret.

"This may be difficult, but I have to do this!" Gus shouted, as he used the railgun to take down most of the Aparoid Crawlers in front of him, and even downed some of the larger Crawlers in one hit.

"We're not to be ignored either!" Link said, as he slashed the crowd of enemies with Zelda covering him with rifle fire.

Meanwhile, Flash moved separate from the crowd, and took out swarms of Aparoids just with his magic, spamming Thundraga and Thundraga Burst with intent to fry their mechanical brains.

Soon enough, the entire field of Aparoids is cleaned up, and both of the remaining generators are destroyed, lowering the energy shield surrounding the main climate control centre.

"THE CLIMATE CONTROL CENTRE SHIELD HAS BEEN DISABLED." ROB 64 indicated.

"Good job, Fox! Now we can finally get our wings into the sky after you finish up!" I compliment him.

"Roger that, Richard." Fox said, as he drives his tank towards the climate control centre.

"The entrance is too small for the Landmaster to fit, Fox. You need to proceed on foot here." Peppy said.

"Then I'll get Guardian, Shadow and Burn to enter with Fox. Guardian and Shadow would definitely shine in close-quarters combat if it comes to it inside the centre." I added. "Artemis, take the Landmaster, and use it to repel any approaching enemies, and Flash, do you know how to use these kinds of turrets?"

"I'm afraid not, and I rather stick to fighting with my keyblade." Flash replied.

"Then I see no reason to argue." I respond to that.

Soon enough, Fox and the team I sent in managed to reach the control panels of the centre.

"This should be it..." Fox said, as he began to activate the systems.

"CONTROL SETTINGS CONFIRMED. BEGINNING ADJUSTMENTS." The AI of the centre announced.

The blizzard around the area, began to become less and less potent, until it was entirely gone.

"Woohoo! That's the end of that blizzard!" Slippy whooped and cheered.

I soon begin to leave, but not before turning around to Peppy.

"Peppy, I need to go down now. This time, I will not leave my team alone with themselves again!" I said to him, determined.

He simply nodded with a smile, as I soon enter the elevator.

However, there were problems on the other side of the comms, as I began to hear alarms on Fox's side.

"Fox...?" Krystal asked, worried.

"What's wrong, Fox? Come in!" Falco questioned.

But there was no response... for a while that is, before Fox's annoyed voice was heard.

"Quit yelling, Falco. I'm fine, and so are Richard's teammates." Fox said. "Just that there's a little hitch in the plan..."

Soon enough I began to hear laser shots in the comms.

"There's a ID problem, and Richard's teammates aren't exactly helping." Fox explained.

"Back off!" Link said, as I hear a slash, and some crackling electricity.

"Die, metal freaks!" Antonio said, as I hear him rattle off shots like a master.

Security bots. That's what's happening, but why would there be a ID problem for Fox? Unless...

"Pigma..." I spat with anger. "Hang in there! I'll come and help as soon I launch off!"

"I'm also on my way! Hold on!" Falco shouted.

I soon exit the elevator sprinting, and manage to reach the hangar in good haste, and manage to dock into my fighter, as I begin take-off procedures while preparing my systems.

"Keep it up! I'm getting ready to take-off!" I informed Fox and my team down there.

"Well, hurry! There's a swarm of them coming towards us!" Fox urged me.

"Here's a good idea, Fox! Don't just fire on them like a crazed dog! Wait for them to open up to attack, before downing them in one shot!" I told him.

"Advice taken!" Fox responded.

"Fox, they'll keep on sending bots until you're either neutralised or even vaporised!" Slippy cried out frantically.

I soon finish preparations, and manage to launch just behind of Falco.

"Richard and Falco, if you're there, hurry up! They just sent a swarm of bots here!" Fox yelled at us.

"We're almost there, so stop whining!" Falco said.

We soon reach the centre, and just as Fox said, there was a HUGE amount of sentry bots surrounding them.

"Duck!" I yelled, as I fire upon the sentry bot, and wipe them all out.

"Eat this!" Falco yelled alongside me, while doing his part.

We soon land in the centre, right in front of Fox and my friends.

"Wow, you guys sure know how to make a flashy entrance, do ya?" Fox asked.

"No time to talk. We need to find Pigma." I replied. "Guardian and Shadow, take these, and climb on aboard my wings. The boots should be able to keep you on there well enough. Burn, take Falco's Arwing with Fox."

I soon give them heavy energy blasters, and the aforementioned duo. docked on my wings, with one on each side, and Burn goes on the wings of Falco's Arwing with Fox.

"I also managed to get some wings, in the form of Subaki, Beruka and Cammila. I'll be riding on Subaki's pegasus, and supporting you. Mikan and GC are with me by the way." Flash said.

"Good to hear you got some good support. I'll cover you as well as you cover me." I reply, as I fly up, with Falco's Arwing, with the three medieval fliers behind us, with GC using some large and strong revolvers in each of his arms, and Mikan using a Blutsanger. Flash? He's just simply preparing to fire some magic hell upon those who chase us.

We manage to sweep through the fields, with so many close calls from the missiles, that it was adrenaline-inducing to say the least. Out of those times, I managed to save Flash from stray missiles three times, while he saved me twice, and Mikan was scared to shit, when a missile was literally right in front of her, before Link managed to gun it down far enough to cause no damage. Krystal, and Slippy also came into the battle, allowing the group of fliers to split, with GC helping cover Krystal, and Mikan, now recovered, to help cover Slippy. I did manage to get some good banter on the comms though.

"You sure are one beautiful and deadly woman, Krystal." GC said in his usual tone.

"Flattery gets you nowhere." Krystal replies with a emotionless tone.

"Aw... what a cute frog... It would be bad for my heart, if I had to dissect you to find out what makes you tick." Mikan swooned.

"YIKES! HELP ME FOX!" Slippy cried out in pure fear from that last sentence.

After a bit of flying around, we manage to clear the field, while Slippy had something to say.

"Those bots, they're Aparoids!" Slippy revealed to Fox.

"What? Are you sure!?" Fox asked.

"It's true! They must be able to take control over most machines, or even infect them!" Slippy confirmed.

"And the one who is pulling the strings is me... Pigma! Wa ha ha ha!" Pigma's voice rang through the comms.

"YOU!" Flash said in rage.

"Up and at 'em, Flashie! And you too, Cross-eyes!" Pigma taunted.

"You're not getting away this time, fucker!" I roared back.

Soon enough a part of the engineering, a generator of the centre began to show signs of infection by the Aparoids, as it began to grow purple and insectoid parts all around it.

"Get back here!" I said, as I chase him.

"I wouldn't bother with me now! That thing looks like it means business! You wouldn't want to leave your friends to this thing, right! Ah ha ha!" Pigma snorted.

"DANGER! DANGER! CLIMATE CONTROL GENERATOR IS REACHING CRITICAL OVERLOAD!" ROB 64 warned us.

"Shit! That bastard is trying to shake us off! Flash, try to keep that bastard from leaving! He's not getting away for a second time!" I said.

"Got ya! I will settle my scores with that scurvy coward!" Flash replied.

He and Subaki then move away, and chase after Pigma, before a time appears on my HUD, indicating the time till the generator overloads, and its five minutes.

"We can't attack it yet! It's carapace is too thick to deal enough damage!" Fox said.

"Aim for the weak points! If the generator overloads, then the centre will go with it!" Peppy said.

Soon enough, the top side of the infected generator opens, to let out a swarm of Aparoid mines.

"Now! Attack the interior, quickly!" I shout, as I guide my Arwing around to aim for the open top, and manage to get a few shots in with Fox, before it then began to glow white.

"That doesn't look good..." Fox said.

Soon enough, the generator fires a white beam from the open top, swings the beam around to try and hit us.

"Dodge damnit, dodge!" I shout out, as I narrowly miss the beam, before then managing to fire some shots in.

"Stop, now!" Fox shouted, as he charges a shot, and fires it right into the generator's open top, before it then stops attacking, and then falls forward, before powering down.

"Whew... The generator is intact." I said while sighing in relief. "The Aparoids are all gone, according to the radar."

"Still... being attacked by our own allies and creations? That's just weird and crazy!" Falco complained.

"Machines are machines, Falco." Peppy lectured him. "Those who don't have strong wills or even have no will, can easily be turned to evil."

"Those without strong wills... Allies or Enemies..." Fox pondered.

"What is it, Fox?" Krystal asked.

"Nothing. That sounds like someone I know, that's all." Fox replied.

I could only remain silent. Those are one of the things that his father, James Mccloud told his son, Fox, before his fate became unknown to all but a select few.

Before long, Pigma's ship began to pass by us, sputtering and smoking, with Subaki and Flash chasing him.

"Damn you kids! I'll get you for this! I'll make you pay!" Pigma said.

"You will die a coward, Pigma!" Flash said, as he jumped from Camilla's griffon, to Pigma's ship, and smashed the cockpit open with his Keyblade, before grabbing Pigma by the collar.

"Please! Let me go! I'll give you this Core Memory! I'll give you everything! Just let me live!" Pigma pleaded frantically, while squealing and handing Flash the Core Memory.

Flash just looked him in the eye, before throwing the Core Memory to Camilla, who caught it with one hand, before then looking back at Pigma.

"You hurt my friends. And now, I will execute you the way you deserve to be." Flash growled.

He then slammed Pigma onto his seat so hard, that the seat was bent straight, leaving Pigma in a prone position, before he then drew out a long machete, and cut open Pigma's body from his thigh to his neck, causing the pig to cry in both pure pain and suffering, before then stabbing the blade through the vertebral column of the ribcage, and pushing it down hard enough to sever both back and front of the ribcage, before he tore the ribcage into two, and spread them out like window covers on a window, or wings of a bird. By then, Pigma was almost dead, his eyes looking almost dim.

So this is the infamous Blood Eagle Execution I heard about. Never thought I would see it in the 'flesh'.

However, that bastard ain't getting away that easily, not after what he caused me.

I soon activate the auto-pilot feature of the Arwing nearby, before directing it to be right next to the craft, before I jump onto the craft, where Pigma lies spread, with his ribs still sticking out.

"Remember me, fat-ass?" I said, wrenching his head with my left hand to look at me, while I wear a sinister smile.

"...You... I'll kill you..." Pigma tried to utter.

"Nice try, but you go first." I say, before I pull out a laser knife from a pocket on my pant pocket. "James is going to be ecstatic to kill you again on the other side. Oh, and tell Andross that he sucks major time, and is nothing but a crazed ape."

I soon swipe the blade through his fat neck, causing it to sever the body from the head that I'm holding, while the body falls backwards, with blood flowing like a river out of the stump. I soon get out of the craft, and walk towards one of the still functioning engine, and skewer Pigma's head onto the engine, causing it to begin to overload from damage, before I jump off, with arms and legs spread like a skydiver, and Pigma's entire craft was replaced by a explosion of great energy.

I manage to land on the wing of my automated Arwing, before entering the cockpit, and regaining my control over it, and fly back to the Great Fox, while I see that my team's Arwings all begin to fly behind me, after the weather has returned to normal.

* * *

MISSION REPORT

Status of Team

Golden Hawks:

Cross: Condition is better than last mission, and has not taken damage, and Arwing has not taken damage from attacks, hull integrity and condition is 100%

Slash:Has not been injured from the battle, condition is 100%.

Shadow: Has suffered some burn marks from laser fire, condition is 82%

Guardian: Has suffered from a few lacerations from the sentry bots, condition is 85%

Artemis: Has not been injured from the battle, condition is 100%

Burn: Has not been injured from the battle, condition is 100%

Star Fox:

Fox: Has managed a safe return, condition is 100%

Krystal: Arwing is damaged severely by pursued forces, hull integrity is 43%

Falco: Has suffered little hull damage, hull integrity is 86%

Slippy: Taken many but weak hits, hull integrity is 80%

Flash's Crew

Flash: Has sustained no damage during the entire encounter, condition is 100%

Royal Champion: Has not engaged in battle.

Debriefing:

Fox: Ships are all home safe and sound!

Peppy: The climate control centre is still perfectly working! Good job, Golden Hawks and Star Fox!

Cross: What's more, Camilla gave us the Core Memory back, so we finally have the things we need to find where those bugs are from!

Flash: And Pigma's finally done for.

Peppy: Well, I never thought I would say this, but he deserved it.

Krystal: Good to know that two problems are fixed at the same time.

Cross: Good, time to head back to Corneria, and time to mobilise our armies to battle!

* * *

 _In The Great Fox_

 _Richard's POV_

"Good work, Star Fox and Golden Hawks!" General Pepper congratulated us, as we are all accounted for on the bridge. "Not only we have gotten a temporary ally, but we also have struck two birds with one stone! Pigma is now dead from your reports, and the Core Memory is rightfully ours again!"

"It should reveal to us the location of the Aparoid homeworld, right?" Fox asked.

"That's right, Fox. Indeed, the time to face the aparoid queen has come..." General Pepper confirmed. "The source of all aparoid will, the queen herself, makes her vile nest on their home planet. As long as she exists, the aparoids will continue to live and multiply!"

"Just like the Gate of Souls incident again..." Link muttered under his breath.

"And we'll support your armies well and through, General! You can count on us to make sure less people lose their lives on such a brutal conflict!" I replied with joy.

"Yeah, they will all pay for destroying the peace you guys should have!" Antonio yelled.

"Understood, we're on our wa-" Fox said before Krystal interrupts him.

"Fox!" Krystal called out.

"Hm?" He said, as he turns his head to Krystal, and I do the same, seeing that her expression shows extreme worry.

"I'm sensing a distress call from the planet Sauria..." Krystal stated.

"Sauria!? That planet has been attacked!?" I cried out.

"I'm not sure... But... I can sense cries of agony!" Krystal replied.

"Oh my!" Zelda says.

I turn to Fox, and said. "Fox, set a course for Sauria... NOW!"

* * *

LOCATING TARGETS...

...

TARGETS ACQUIRED. CONNECTING...

SUCCESS! ACTIVATING COMMS.

OK

 _Current Music: Mission Briefing (Star Fox Assault)_

The same set-up of the briefing room appears, with the 3-D map now showing the terrain of Sauria, with red dots everywhere, indicating the Aparoid swarms. Soon enough, the green and yellow arrow markers of the entire team, and Flash being indicated by a blue marker.

Pictures of infected dinosaurs appear on the screen, with the words 'APAROIDEDATION' written below each of the pictures.

Slippy: Fox, look at that. It's horrible!

Artemis: So many innocent creatures, suffering such pain and agony…. I can't bear it!

Burn: The aparoids have gone too far this time! I cannot stand and watch this happen!

Fox: What have they done to Sauria's dinosaurs!? This is unforgivable!

Guardian: Creatures like these… these dinosaurs, they have to be killed, to release them from such pain and suffering… I swear… I will not stop until the aparoids die for this!

The image transfers to pictures of the Aparoid hatchers on the planet's ground, the same ones as the ones that landed in Katina Base.

Peppy: Aparoid hatchers. This must be how they multiply. Destroying those hatchers will give us more of a chance of saving Sauria's dinosaurs and wildlife from the aparoids.

Cross: I also have deduced that there are aerial aparoids as well. We'll need to split in two forces, one for the ground, and one for the skies.

Fox: OK, Krystal and I will head down to the surface. Falco and Slippy, the skies are yours!

Krystal: A mission together at last.

Fox: Oh… Uh… Yeah.

Falco: What are you two doing? Let's go!

Cross: As for you guys, I will head down to the surface alone. You guys take the skies. I left you guys alone last time, but no longer. I'll cover you with every second I can spare.

Burn: Richard… No, Cross…

Guardian: We still forgive you...

Cross: But I cannot forgive myself, Guardian. That's why I must go down alone, and take the burden of fighting the aparoid swarms alone with Fox and Krystal. Team, move out!

* * *

MISSION 5: Dark Skies Over Sauria

Briefing: Sauria is invaded by the aparoids, its denizens being slowly infected by them. Star Fox and their allies head for Sauria to help save the planet. They must both seek to destroy all aparoid traces in the planet, and help prevent the aparoidedation from all residents of the place. However... A sense of dread hangs over Richard, as he fights, as a ominous warning about what's to come...

Team Members:

Fox: Ground combat

Falco: Arwing combat

Slippy: Arwing combat

Krystal: Ground combat

Richard/Cross:Ground combat

Impa/Slash: Arwing combat

Zelda/Artermis: Arwing combat

Link/Guardian: Arwing combat

Antonio/Shadow: Arwing combat

Gus/Burn: Arwing combat

Missions:

-Fend off the aparoids

-Protect all denizens of Sauria

-?

* * *

 _On the surface of Sauria..._

 _Richard's POV_

 _Current Music: Reunion (Star Fox Assault)_

I soon enter the atmosphere of the planet, as I launch off the Great Fox, and see that the skies are swarmed by Aparoids, and they were brutally murdering the pterodactyls that live in the planet, sucking the lifeblood out of them with their own tendril attachments, attached to their prey.

"Damnit..." I mutter, as I watch them slowly kill the pterodactyls one by one, as the corpses of the aerial dinosaurs soon turn into a deep shade of grey and their eyes become devoid on any colour, and fall down on the ground, rigid as a board.

I soon manage to find a place near a pond to land my Arwing, where Fox and Krystal were docking off their own Arwings. I ease the fighter down to the ground, before jumping out of the cockpit, leaving the fighter there.

"Looks like you come to join the hunt, eh, Cross?" Fox said, wielding his standard-issue blaster, while Krystal uses her own blaster.

"Absolutely. It's time for some fumigation and extermination of these pesky bugs." I reply with determination, as I fire upon the crowd of enemies.

We soon move together as one into a cave, which leads to one of the shrines inside the mountain, and separate to scour the area clean. I manage to sweep a few passages clean of the enemies, and even saved a parent-child duo of stegosauri from their demise, by gunning down the aparoids that are ready to pounce on them.

They simply roared their gratitude, and I simply salute to them with respect, as I continue down the cave, to find a Aparoid hatcher, which is spawning Aparoid Crawlers at a alarming speed. I soon rip the parasite to shreds with the bullets, before it can create more monstrosities.

"Aparoid Hatcher down on my side." I reported as I exit the cave, to regroup with Fox and Krystal again.

"That's three down!" Fox said.

"We need to get the others!" I say, as I dock onto my Arwing, and head for the next location where the Aparoid hatchers are.

"Help me, Cross!" Slippy wailed, as a Aparoid was chasing him on his tail. I simply gun down the creature, without its focus shifting to me.

"There. Be careful, Slippy, this is not some simple mission." I told him, as I flew away.

"Thanks, Cross!" Slippy said.

Some of the hatchers were right out in the open, and with the help of a few shots courtesy of my teammates who happened to pass by me, I managed to destroy all of those hatchers in a few minutes, while keeping a close eye on dodging attacks and returning fire to the aerial Aparoids.

Soon enough, the rest of the Aparoid hatchers are cleaned up by Fox and Krystal on the ground.

"I don't see any dinosaurs anywhere over here... I hope Tricky and his folk are fine..." Krystal said, worried.

"Don't worry. I doubt the residents here would go down that easily. They could have taken refuge in some hidden cave." I assured her.

I soon dock down to a nearby spot, and rejoin with Fox and Krystal, where they are walking by.

"Guess that's all of them, Fox." I said, as I soon jump off the Arwing.

"Yeah..." Fox replied to me.

Soon enough, the ground began to tremble, and I immediately drew my side-pistol, and pointed it to the source of the sound, ready to fire if there was anything hostile from that noise.

"Fooooxxxxssssss!" I heard a familiar and childish voice ring out from the source, as a young and large triceratops adorned in royal jewellery charges at us, before jumping in the air.

That triceratops is Tricky, who is known to be a good friend of Fox, and was one of his companions on his adventure on this planet in the past. He has now become the prince of the planet, and still remembers Fox and Krystal.

I simply sidesteps a few steps to the left and whistle, with the gun replaced in my holster, as Fox simply stumbles back, saying "Tri-" before he was interrupted by the full weight on the playful and childish triceratops landing on him.

Krystal giggles a bit at seeing this entire scene.

"Fox! Krystal! I knew you'd come! Thank you so much!" Tricky gratefully thanked the duo, still lying on Fox, and being unaware of my presence.

"Tricky... So heavy... Ouch..." Fox groaned, as he tried to pull himself out from under Tricky.

"Looks like your friend here is quite playful, Fox. Hope you don't get squished under him too soon, you still have the world to save!" I quipped, before I burst into laughter.

Tricky then turns to look at me, and tilts his head to the left a bit, confused, asking, "Who are you?"

I simply walk slowly in front of him, before bending down, and patting his head.

"I'm one of Fox's friends, who helped save you all before those evil things hurt you." I said.

Tricky then began to hum a bit, thinking, before replying "OK, I trust you. You don't look like a bad guy after all."

"I promise you that I'm on your side." I reply.

After getting Fox out from under Tricky, we began to ride on Tricky's back, as we head back to the Great Fox. Fox and Krystal sat towards the front part of Tricky's back, while I sat behind them.

To be honest, riding a triceratops is quite the experience. Not only Tricky can walk as stable as a car when driven, he also can traverse most terrain with no problems, and I doubt that it would be a long time before he would run of steam.

"So, Fox... You're going to fight them, right?" Tricky said, looking back at us. "Well, I'm going with you! If your friend behind you can do that, at such a young age, then I should be even more able to help you!"

"Uhm... I appreciate it, but you're needed here, old pal." Fox refused politely. "Besides, I'm leaving good ol' Sauria in your care."

"That's right, Tricky. Oh, and just in case you want my name, it's Richard. Just Richard." I added. "I believe that you're the new prince here. So you have to stay. What would the people here do without such a young and determined hero and leader like you? I would be happy to have you join us, but you're more of a help here than with us."

"...Hm. OK, I'll do it!" Tricky replied, persuaded by us. "I'll take care of things here so you two can come back on your honeymoon!"

Fox was utterly surprised by the last sentence, as he flinched back, with a surprised expression.

It was obvious what the reason was, considering Fox's words back in the briefing room. So obvious...

"What! What're you, nuts!?" Fox blurted out. "We aren't... We're not yet! Uh..."

"Not yet?" Krystal cooed, with a sly grin on her face.

"Admit it, ya sly fox! You can't out-fox this man, when it comes to hiding your relations!" I cackled, with a grin that spread across my entire face.

"Uh... I mean... I mean..." Fox stuttered. "This isn't a conversation for children!"

"You said you weren't going to treat me like a kid anymore!" Tricky complained.

"Then stop acting like one!" Fox replied, annoyed.

"You're just mad, because you don't want to talk about it!" Tricky teased.

"Come on, Fox. Tell me how many times you had wooed Krystal over? I promise I'll keep it a secret from my own teammates!" I asked.

"Alright, that's enough, boys!" Krystal interjected.

The three of us immediately shut up, and the rest of the trip went as quiet as planned.

Well, at least, until we heard a resounding explosion towards the direction we're heading.

"Oh, that does not sound good at all..." I muttered. "Anybody has a clue as to what happened?"

"No idea. But I got to agree with you about it being something bad." Fox replied.

"Damn... Tricky, how fast can you run?" I asked.

"Pretty fast compared to you guys." Tricky responded.

"Could you please hurry towards the source of the sound? There must be a emergency there, so please!" I begged.

"OK, just hold tight, you three." Tricky said, as he began to run all-out.

Even running, Tricky kept himself relatively stable, so we didn't have to use much of our energy trying to cling onto our very lives, and we manage to reach the source of the sound in a few moments. The scene, however, was not pretty at all.

Although the Great Fox was unscathed, outside of the ship, there were the defeated bodies of Falco, Slippy, all of my teammates, and even Effie, Arthur, and Selena, who was dressed in a true mercenary attire, wearing a much more modern version of her usual outfit, and in her hands was her own sword, and a Colt M1911, all of them either having countless cuts and bruises.

The only two people who are conscious and still standing, are the two who are fighting each other. One was Flash, whose entire outfit was swapped for white and angelic robes, and there was a snow white patch on the top of his head, shaped like a circle the size of a Poke-ball, and he has a pair of large snow-white angle wings sprouting out of his back, giving him the power of flight. The other was a person who had the same appearance and face as me, although his hair and eyes were dark purple, and was formed in a feathered hair-style, and his eyes reflected pure sadism to those who fought him, and his maniacal grin only furthered the point. He wore a dark purple version of Dage's Legion Champion Armor, without the helmet, and he wielded a one-handed cleaver that was almost as tall as his body on his left hand, and the handle was blood-red, with many runes I cannot understand written in white all over it, and the blade was contorted into many hooks and teeth on one side, and a sharp edge on the other, making it a weapon of insanity and darkness.

The two clashed each other continuously, as Flash used his entire arsenal of magic, but none would significantly damage the mysterious opponent, as he just simply flinched when he stepped on mines, and blocked every magical spell aimed at him with his own cleaver, and swung like a true maniac at Flash, who only managed to block each blow just in time. It was a stalemate, before the mysterious copy just let out a cry of rage, before swinging his blade in a clock wise revolution, causing the blocking Flash to be knocked into the wall of a nearby temple with such force, that he was knocked out by the time he slammed into the wall.

"Pathetic pathetic PATHETIC!" The mysterious copy fumed, with a slightly deeper voice than my own. "Is this the power of the rats who interfered with our plans!? What a worthless waste of time. I COULD HAVE BEEN LEADING MY OWN FORCE INTO OTHER WORLDS THE TIME I WASTE WITH YOU BRATS!"

He then proceeded to walk over to where Flash is, before wearing a sadistic grin, and lifting Flash by the hair with his right hand.

"And because you wasted my time... I'll make sure you all die suffering!" He said, as he began to swing his blade.

"NO!" I shout out with rage, as I jump off Tricky, and fire off a barrage of shots mid-air, towards the sadistic copy.

The attack succeeded and hurt him a bit, if not a lot, as he began to grunt and groan as he was hit, and dropped Flash, before turning around with teeth bared in a furious expression, his eyes glowing a more deep purple.

"WHO DARES!?" He demanded.

"I dare." I retorted, with a cold tone filled with anger, as I put away the machine-gun, and summon Heaven's Will in a flash of light in both my hands.

"So you finally come, the rat who is behind all the things that has caused us all problems." The copy said. "Now that you're here. I can finally kill you, and end this pathetic charade!"

"Who. Are. You?" I ask with emphasis from my rage.

"Why should I talk with someone..." He replied, before charging at me, his blade behind him, prepared to be swung. "..THAT IS GOING TO DIE ANYWAY!?"

I manage to shift the shield just in time to block the blow, and feel a massive pressure on the arm holding the shield, as my opponent simply began to exert more power, forcing me to have to shift down a bit.

"Fox... Run..." I said to Fox and Krystal, who are still on Tricky's back. "He's... not... something... you... can.. fight... I... can... see... that... from... what... happened... Get... everyone... out... of... here..."

Fox nodded, as Tricky and Krystal, began to move everyone else's unconscious body, including Flash, by moving them all into a pile, and shouldering two people at a time each, for Fox and Krystal, while Tricky simply nudged the rest onto his back, and moved towards the Great Fox, putting them all into the hangar.

I began to lose strength in my shield, and was forced to step back to avoid being crushed under the blow. However, the person just simply did a round-house kick so strong, that I was sent towards a tree with hurtling force, and was knocked almost unconscious, with my vision flickering in and out, as I saw the Great Fox move to the skies to avoid the opponent.

"Looks like you're not as weak as I expect, boy." The mysterious opponent smirked, as he began to approach me slowly. "Since you're going to die anyway, I'll give you the honour of taking this name with you. Lingyue, one of the Generals of the Darkness."

I tried to get up, using my arms as support,but I immediately fall down.

"Do you really think that the Aparoids are really that easy to beat?" Lingyue further berated me, getting closer and closer. "After all, we're the ones who are behind the reason why the Aparoids are acting like they are."

"What!?" I groaned.

"What do you expect? Did you expect that the Aparoids are simply like this in the beginning? Well, sad to break it to you, weakling, but we pull the strings here!" Lingyue continued.

He then began to raise me by my head with his free hand, while sheathing his cleaver with the other.

"Allow me to tell you a little story." He said, his grin still as wide as ever, and his eyes staring deep into my own, feeling like that it is even boring into my soul and spirit.

"The Aparoids, at first, weren't that much of a attacker. They were just simply peaceful residents of the universe. They drank only natural oil and consumed electricity. Feh, disgusting. It's so peaceful, that I could retch at it. Things like this existing MAKES ME WANT TO KILL MORE AND MORE!"

"So..." Lingyue continued, lifting his other hand, with one finger up. "We decided that we would create a proxy race, that would help us. So we slaughtered the entire race, and stole all their eggs, and then we corrupted them, forcing them to follow the rule 'Divide, Infect, Conquer'. That's right, we reformed them like the fucking Zerg! Except they're better!"

"And it even gets better! We even let them out to test them all out, and the results! Better than expected! Just one aparoid... took out a entire fleet of those Cornerian bugs! It's so fucking amazing how we made them like this. So... We created the Aparoid Queen, so that it can take our place in leading the Aparoids to devour all. And the best thing? We even set a special thing in them. Can you guess what it is?"

"What?..." I groaned.

"The moment the Aparoids infested every single pathetic planet, and every single piece of space in this universe, we would... blow them up!" Lingyue replied, before throwing a fit of sadistic laughter. "That's right. With every planet infested with these suckers, we would blow their cores to kingdom come. And you know how strong a self-destructing Aparoid is? It's radius of explosion is so great that it'll obliterate a continent alone, and with 10 or more? A planet. So you know what happens when they all self-destruct swarming every single square metre of the universe?"

He then leans forward into my ear.

"The universe goes bye-bye." He whispered with glee. "Sure, the Darkness can do the job better, but we have something to do the same job, so why bother? They will do our job faster with their astounding spawn rate, and in just a few months, BAM! One more universe rendered to nothingness, and just as one said before: "Explosion is a art!", and I will become one step closer to taking that old fool's place as supreme of the Darkness!"

"I... won't... let... you..." I growled with all my strength.

"HAH! You won't let me? With this kind of power. Soooo stupid!" Lingyue cackled. "And now, I tire of such games. So..."

Lingyue then prepares to swing his blade.

"...It's time that your story ends, human. Say goodbye to existence, you miserable and insignificant pile of meat!" He said with insanity shown in his eyes.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the end of my life, only to feel nothing, as I feel myself being dropped.

When I opened my eyes, Lingyue was gone, to my relief, and I have seemed to recover my strength quick enough.

I slowly stood up and then pulled out Vai, who was shivering inside my entire pocket the entire time, considering how much she was shaking when I pulled her out.

"Vai, can you set up a connection with the Creator for me, please?" I asked her softly, noting her condition.

"S-Sure... But t-that... thing was so scary, and I couldn't even see it..." Vai stuttered with fear.

The golden fairy soon then traced the outline of a screen, before the screen begins to become more and more opaque, with the Creator's figure in the centre of it, and the Core behind her.

"Hello again, Creator." I greeted her.

"Greeting to you as well, Richard." The Creator replies warmly, with a kind tone. "How are you going with the Darkness so far."

"Well... I managed to succeed to rout them from 2 of the worlds, and gained some possible allies, but..." I reported. "...The reason I contacted you, because I have met a powerful being who claims to be a General of the Darkness."

"I see..." The Creator replied, losing her kind tone, switched for a serious one. "I never have seen the Darkness have leaders before, other than the Supreme of the Darkness, but I can say that if they have created their own generals, then the situation has become more grim, I'm afraid..."

"Hey. Cheer up, Creator." I responded, with a caring tone. "If you have chosen me, it's for a special reason. I could deduce that maybe its because of my vast knowledge of all the worlds and realms, that you have chosen me to recruit allies for the cause to save existence. And you gave me a lot of things to help me, so I'll be fine. I may have had a few close calls, but I grow stronger every day and in every world."

"Thank you, Richard." The Creator expressed her thanks. "You truly know the reason why I chose you, but be sure not to get cocky. If I can deduce from your tone and appearance, you had a scuffle with a General of the Darkness, and was severely beaten, right?"

"Indeed... He even beat Flash Dove, who's a much more experienced dimensional traveller, with a very large margin, and I only barely managed to hold him off to save the rest of my team..." I admitted with a hurt tone.

"Then it proves that you need to be stronger. If you are to be able to fight the Darkness, you would need to be able to get much more stronger with each thing you learn. The Darkness also have the power to adapt, so you must adapt faster than them, if you are to stop them." The Creator explained.

"I will, Creator. With everyone's hopes and ambitions lying on my shoulders, I cannot afford to let myself to fall that easily. Thank you, Creator." I answered back.

"You're welcome, Richard." The Creator said, before the screen disappeared in pixels of light, signifying that the conversation was over.

I soon sigh, while thinking about something.

' _If the Darkness were responsible for the canon events of Assault, because they corrupted the Aparoid race, then what could they possibly be capable of doing? Could they be the reason why Izanami in Persona 4 existed, or could they have done worse, and become the source of corruption for Anarkos in Fire Emblems Fate, or even, they could be the reason why Father from Full Metal Alchemist had so much power, and why his third form is shaped as it is... So many things that went wrong in each history of the various worlds, and so many things that the Darkness can alter for their own cause...'_

I then look up to the sun, before continuing my thoughts.

' _But even if they are responsible for those things, I can also alter things then. For example, maybe I could prevent Isara's death in the world of Valkyria Chronicles, or I could even find a way to help protect Queen Mikoto in Fire Emblems Fates, by using my own body to shield the blow. There are so many things that I can change, but the question is, how can I do it? In many games, each choice has its own worth and consequences, some games even proving this theory further, but somehow, the Darkness were able to alter this timeline and history without breaking the chain. Perhaps the key lies in changing the past, or is it that I have go in a chase across time, just like Sigma from Virtue's Last Reward...'_

I began to end my thoughts about this topic here, and headed for the Great Fox, prepared for what would happen in Corneria.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in a unknown location..._

 _3rd Person POV_

Lingyue was not happy, after what has happened to him. He was fuming around the space, and throwing a tantrum, as he swing the blade in a bloody frenzy, in a space filled with pitch black darkness.

First, he had to deal with some 'rats' that caused problems to his plans, before he finally found the one who was really disturbing his plans, which was a boy at his late teens, and was source of said problems, and what's worse, is that he was unable to do what he liked to do with people he hated, that is to behead every single body, and then cut them into ribbons for enjoyment and satisfaction of a job well done, because the teen prevented him from doing that, and the worst to him?

The teen was spared.

After so easily pushing him over and knocking him down to the ground, he made the mistake of telling him what the Darkness did, because he thought he could finish the job. But no... Before he could finish off the boy, he was teleported back.

Because of 'pressing matters'.

' _Well, FUCK THIS PRESSING MATTER! I WANT THAT KID DEAD NOW! AND NO-ONE WAS TO STOP ME!'_ Lingyue fumed inside his head.

Soon enough, he heard footsteps approaching where he was, and he turned around to see someone, who was about the same height as him, and looked as young as he was now, wearing a red uniform jacket that was like the ones that the General of Division would wear, with a sheathed sabre, covered by a red scabbard, strapped on the left side of his waist, and he wore black boots, and his entire head was covered by the shadows in the darkness.

"Hmph. So it's you, huh?" Lingyue snorted. "You're the one who brought me here, a General of the Darkness?"

"Right you are, Lingyue. We don't have time to waste with a boy like him. Besides, we have other worlds to conquer. That boy is not the only one we have to deal with. Have you forgotten the Destroyer?" The other person spoke, with a majestic and royal tone.

"So what? Can't you see that I was busy dealing with that kid? I don't have time to waste with some petty god who is messing around with us." Lingyue growled.

"The Destroyer is no petty god, Lingyue. You should know that after all he did to you in the past." The other person replied.

"Yeah, yeah, he blew my body into pieces, so what? We're Darkness. We cannot die as long as the Supreme exists." Lingyue said with a annoyed tone.

"This matter is not of your choice. The Supreme commanded you to be back here, and you don't have any choice but to obey." The other person reminded Lingyue.

"Fine. I'll deal with the Destroyer, but you better let me have my way next time, because I am not interested in such boring plans." Lingyue grudgingly accepted.

"Good. Then let's go. We have matters to deal with, Lingyue." The other person replied.

Lingyue and the other General of the Darkness left the space, and walked out of the dark space.

* * *

A/N: There will be no preview this time, as I realised that my drafts change too much to allow these previews to become a part of the next chapter, so I may or may not do a preview in the next chapter or so, depending on how people think of it.


	19. Chapter 11: Corneria's Def and Off

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 11: Corneria's Defence and Offence

A/N: Flash and his crew property of ChaosFlash912, and Richard, Gus and Lingyue are my property, and Antonio is property of Panther J. The rest belong to their respective franchises, and are possibly OOC.

In the previous chapter:

 **"HIS VITALS ARE STILL NOT STABLE! WE MAY LOSE HIM IF WE DON'T GET HELP."**

 **"I was... in a coma!?"**

 **"Find my friends and Flash's team down there. My teammates could have already been stranded down there by the weather. I pray to you that you can find them before matters get worse."**

 **"R-hard? Is t-t y-u? It's m-, L-k! W-'r- i- -e moun-an r-ge, i- a n-e-by c-ve! W-'ve b-en he-ped b- F-sh, b-t th-e a-e too-"**

 **"*sob*I only became a *sniff* damn burden, despite what I have done….*sob*"**

 **"There's a ID problem, and Richard's teammates aren't exactly helping."**

 **"Nice try, but you go first. James is going to be ecstatic to kill you again on the other side. Oh, and tell Andross that he sucks major time, and is nothing but a crazed ape."**

 **"...It's time that your story ends, human. Say goodbye to existence, you miserable and insignificant pile of meat!"**

 **"Then it proves that you need to be stronger. If you are to be able to fight the Darkness, you would need to be able to get much more stronger with each thing you learn. The Darkness also have the power to adapt, so you must adapt faster than them, if you are to stop them."**

 **"I will, Creator. With everyone's hopes and ambitions lying on my shoulders, I cannot afford to let myself to fall that easily. Thank you, Creator."**

* * *

 _In the Great Fox, a few days later_

 _Richard's POV_

It's been a while since the General of the Darkness attack I received, which shook my conviction and my belief in myself.

But who's to disagree with that statement? That guy, who goes by the name Lingyue, literally wiped Falco, Slippy, all of my teammates in a matter of a few minutes, and even beat Flash down to the ground. If it wasn't for my intervention, and that guy's habit of making monologues about his organization's plans, all of us would be dead at that moment, considering he floored me with only two slashes, and the look on his face shows that he's not being serious about this.

Luckily, the defeated members recovered quickly, to my surprise, as they did not complain about their injuries, but simply shrugged the incident off.

Well, most of them anyway, considering how Flash keeps a sour expression ever since he woke up, and that expression even betrays that not all his wounds have healed, and I don't mean the physical ones. He left the Great Fox post-haste with little words, riding his Keyblade Glider with only these words.

"That asshole is going to get what's coming to him." He said, before he jetted out of the carrier back to his dear Royal Champion.

Falco and Slippy, being anthropomorphic animals, didn't suffer as much physical damage as my teammates, for unknown reasons that I don't plan on prying on, and the only thing that remained was Falco's hurt pride, and Slippy's worries.

My teammates? Well, they all woke up quite peacefully. They begin to ask me questions about who that person was, considering he looks almost exactly like me, so I only told them what I know about him, and even began to explain that the Darkness had a hand in the Aparoids literally swarming the entire system. There were many different reactions to this fact.

First of all, Link only grit his teeth after what he saw on Sauria, all the suffering caused by Aparoids on the innocent citizens of the planet, only for it to be of the Darkness' fault. Zelda gasped with both hands covering her mouth in horror. Antonio had the same expression as Link, except his mouth was more of a scowl, and Gus, was slightly angered by this, but his expression doesn't betray that fact, other than him creasing his eyebrows. Impa was pissed, swearing to tear the head of whoever that person was, the next time she meets him. I assured her that there would no such problems, as we'll defeat 'him' together.

The recovery was quite miraculous, considering the next event is going to be a battle of attrition against a large contingent of the Aparoid swarm in the home planet of Lylat, Corneria, and we would need all our power for the battle. It's going to a hard battle, and a even harder one if we have to abide our rules of being protectors, ensuring minimum causalities in the battle.

We soon move to the bridge, to receive the briefing from General Pepper, with all of us into our usual attire for battle, with myself in my army slacks during my first battle here, and the rest of my team in their own pilot suits.

Soon, General Pepper's face appears on the monitor, and the expression on his face betrays his own limitless worries.

"Everyone, heed closely to what I am about to say." General Pepper called, with a serious tone. "While you were at Sauria, a colossal swarm of aparoids larger than we ever seen have invaded Corneria. Our entire defence fleet is decimated, save for a few surviving craft, and they now attack our capital."

Soon images of the Cornerian capital appeared, with destruction evident in every place we saw.

"No..." Fox uttered in despair. "How could this happen? While Richard and I were busy, they..."

I soon put a hand onto Fox's shoulder, to snap him out of whatever he was going to continue.

"Fox." I intoned with a firm tone. "This isn't the time to be thinking about such things. You must not falter here. We may be too late, but we can salvage this situation, by ensuring that Corneria is evacuated safely, with all that remains, citizens and infrastructure, intact."

Fox nodded at this.

"Thank you, Richard. I shouldn't be worrying about such things too much." Fox thanked me.

"Richard is truly right, Fox. You and the Golden Hawks are our last hope in saving us all. The invasion is progressing at alarming rates, but I trust that you will stop the aparoids in their tracks." General Pepper added to my words.

"ROB! What are the conditions down on the surface?" Fox commanded.

"RADAR JAMMERS ARE IN PLACE. RADAR USE IS PROHIBITED AND IMPOSSIBLE TO USE." ROB reported back.

"Dangit!" Fox swore.

"We absolutely cannot let this kind of interference stop us, Fox!" Link shouted. "I can't let the people down there suffer from the tyranny of the Aparoids!"

"We won't let them get away with this! We'll show them that we, as the protectors, will not back down so easily, and we will slaughter them by the numbers!" Impa yelled with vigor.

"No radars mean Arwings are not a good idea to use. " Slippy reminded Fox. "Someone has to go on foot and destroy all those radar jammers!"

"Please hurry... I'm... I'm already..." Pepper groaned, in a weak and powerless tone.

Soon enough, the signal cuts out, as a error sign with the words "TRANSMISSION FAILURE" appear in place of the images.

"General? General! Respond to me, Pepper!" Fox demanded in a worried tone.

"He's gone, Fox. Whatever the Aparoids did, it cuts our signal off." I said to Fox, shaking my head. "We must hurry, if we're going to save General Pepper."

"Just save him, Fox and Richard. Pepper's a good friend of mine. I cannot lose him just like I lost James ages ago..." Peppy begged.

"I promise that I will, Peppy Hare." I responded. "After all, you're not the only person who has suffered loss."

Peppy just nodded his head in approval, and we soon began to move into the hangar, to prepare for the big mission ahead of us.

* * *

MISSION 6: Corneria Under Siege

Briefing: The Aparoids have launched a masssive siege on Corneria's capital, and has sabotaged all radar use with radar jammers, and has even blocked comms between the scattered Cornerian forces. Star Fox and Golden Hawks must form a joint operation to destroy all devices and save the remaining Cornerian citizens and military.

Team Members:

Fox: Ground combat

Falco: Arwing combat

Slippy: Arwing combat

Krystal: Arwing combat

Richard/Cross: Ground combat

Impa/Slash: Arwing combat

Zelda/Artermis: Arwing combat

Link/Guardian: Arwing combat

Antonio/Shadow: Arwing combat

Gus/Burn: Arwing combat

Missions:

-Destroy all radar jammers

-Rid the aparoid swarm in the skies

-Protect remaining Cornerian forces and all citizens.

-Disarm all Infested Cornerian soldiers.

* * *

 _In the Conerian Capital_

 _Richard's POV_

I soon jump out of my Arwing, managing to land in a fairly empty space in the city square, where there are Aparoids wreaking havoc everywhere I where, with the radar jammers pulsing loudly, and Cornerian soldiers begin slowly infested by the Aparoids, as their own suits betray them from the Aparoid's control, and they become ally to enemy.

Soon, Fox drops his Arwing near me, and hops off to begin the battle.

"Did they say this is Corneria?" Fox questioned no-one in particular, looking at the ruined landscape of the city.

"It is, Fox. We must fight to bring back the Corneria we seen and love." I replied with determination.

"Right. We have to destroy the radar jammers." Fox said.

We soon take off, before beginning to pick off a few of the Aparoid Crawlers, but Infested Cornerians begin to join the fray, and begin to fire their rifles, which are altered by the infestation, at us.

"To see people being infested by Cornerians like this... It turns my stomach..." Fox groaned at the sight, while firing at the Aparoids.

"Do you best not to fire with lethal force, Fox. Aim for the guns or the neck, it should be able to simply incapacitate them." I reply, aiming for non-vital points of the Cornerian soldiers, which are surprisingly easy to take out.

"Roger." Fox said to that.

We manage to avoid a laser shot, which originated from a radar jammer as a self-defence mechanism. I soon retaliate with a few bursts of machine-gun fire, which manage to destroy it.

"Oi, you two down there, how long are you going to gaggle down there! We're flying with blind eyes here!" Falco rudely interrupted our battle.

"Well, excuse ME, Falco! I don't see you being down here and helping us rid some enemies that are providing us trouble!" I said.

"Hey! I'm covering your hind here, kid!" Falco growled back.

"Then don't whine and do your job!" I retorted back, before closing the comms line.

I cover Fox from attacks on all sides, as he equips his own sleek laser rifle to shoot down most of the radar jammers from afar, and even downed some Aparoid Stingers who are roaming the streets.

Soon enough I hear a cry from afar, a cry of despair and helplessness.

"Fox, go without me. I'll investigate the source of the agonized cry." I told Fox.

"You do that, Cross." Fox replied half-heartedly, as his attention was divided in sniping out another of the radar jammers.

I immediately take off to the direction of the distressed cry, and manage to clear the path in front of me, only to find a mother-son duo of bears being trapped in one of their futuristic cars, surrounded by Aparoid Crawlers. The mother of the pair was clutching her son onto herself, with the son being young as a 10-year old child, and he was crying into his mother's body with so much fear, and the expression on his mother's face had the same amount of fear on it. The Aparoid Crawlers were swarming the vehicle, and banging their claws onto the glass, cracking it little by little, and causing the duo to retreat further into their car.

"OI! YOU STUPID BUGS! OVER HERE!" I taunted them all.

The taunt managed to work, as all of them looked at me, and simultaneously screeched as a collective, and moved towards me.

I immediately let out a roar of courage, as I destroy them all before they can reach me.

The duo in the car were looking better, but they still had the look of fear on their faces. I immediately moved to the car doors, and opened them slowly.

"Hey. It's alright. I'm with the good guys. The Aparoids are gone for a while." I comforted them with a soothing tone, putting my hands up with the gun down on the ground to prove my point.

The pair soon slowly stagger out of the car, before looking at me.

"I know, it's because I'm human, right? I'm not responsible for this. In fact, I'm looking to make whoever did this pay." I continued.

"T-Thanks, mister..." The young bear boy said to me.

"It's alright... I'm working with the legendary Star Fox." I assured him, patting his head.

The bear boy smiled for a while at this, while his mother loosened her fearful expression a bit.

"So, miss, I can't let you roam like this. How about I act as your escort back to the nearest safehouse. I assure you that you will not be harmed by anything on the way." I offered.

"Thanks, kind sir..." The mother of the duo said.

"Your life is all the thanks I need, dear lady." I replied with a smile.

I soon guide them through the streets, while making sure to avoid encounters with the Aparoids, and steathily taking out those that I can't.

After a few round of sneak attacks, and stealth, I manage to reach a Cornerian safehouse, which has the symbol of the Cornerian Army on it. I soon softly rap the door, as the doors slide open to show a uninfested soldier behind it.

"What are you still doing out-" The Cornerian soldier barked, before seeing the cilivian duo. "I see... So you're the mercenary that helps Star Fox. We are grateful that you saved some people for us."

"You're welcome, soldier. Return the favor by taking these two into your care." I reply with a serious tone.

"Yessir!" The soldier called, as he saluted me.

The bear duo entered the safehouse, but not before bowing towards me and expressing their thanks for saving their lives. I soon gleam, knowing that I have saved people, even if only two, from a gruesome fate.

No rest for the benevolent I guess... But it's a start to what I plan to do.

Step by step... I'll gain the power to save more lives when it comes to it. Maybe even prevent the demises of a few people.

But first... I need to gain the power to stabilise time, space, and fate, if I'm going to get a guaranteed better outcome for some people that die, including one certain magical girl stuck in the infinite loop of time...

And I have a system to save, so that'll keep me busy for a while.

I soon leave the safehouse, and soon check my portable radar for any other signs of distress. To my relief, there are no more other survivors that are in need of saving. Guess I paved the way to their escape.

I run for Fox's location, and manage to reach him in time, as he manages to land the decisive blow on the last Aparoid radar jammer, causing it to explode.

"Good job, Fox. That should be all of them." I complimented him.

"That'll help the others. We need to head back in our own Arwings to finish the fight." Fox replied.

"Good, my autopilot isn't built to fight without a functioning radar. I bet its being a metal shield and bait for most Aparoids." I responded to that.

We shift up to the top of a building, where our Arwings are, and Fox was about to approach them, before I saw some kind of large energy projectile fire at where the two Arwings are.

"FOX! LOOK OUT!" I shouted, as I lunge and push him sideways, away from the projectile, as it lands where the Arwing is, and literally smashes into both of them, causing them to be shot into the air, and fall backwards off the building, before they land on the streets, and explode with parts of both machines flying into the air.

"What the!?" Fox blurted out.

Aparoid Crawlers soon land around us, creating a impenetrable encirclement.

"Not good... We have to fight our way out, Fox. Back up so we can cover each other's backs!" I said with a bit of worry.

The two of us form a back-to-back formation as we fire onto the swarm of enemies around us, but there is no sign of the encroaching forces being thinned and pushed back.

"Guess I let my guard down..." Fox said.

"We can't die here, Fox! The Lylat System needs us!" I shouted with desperation, as I fire wildly in a attempt to push the Aparoids back.

"You're pitiful sights, pups!" Wolf's voice mocked through the comms.

"Wolf!?" Fox said.

"You!?" I say.

Wolf smirks, as he fires onto the Aparoid crowd, without any aim specifically to the Aparoids, causing us to have to sprint of the edge of the building and jump, to avoid the imminent charge shot on top of the building, causing a large explosion, that blows wind behind us.

"Fuck this shhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttt!" I cried out as I fall rapidly to the ground with Fox, who is flailing mid-fail like me.

However, we land onto the Wolfen's wing instead, with Fox, managing to land crouched, while I land onto the wing belly-first, which was a painful landing.

"OW!" I yell in pain, as I rub my face, which has taken a large portion of the impact.

"Wolf! What are you doing here?" Fox asked.

"You and that human kid are the ones who dropped in unannounced." Wolf replied snarkily. "And if anyone is going to take the kid's head and tan your hide, it's going to be me."

"Dream on! I'll give you a good fight when I get a new Arwing!" I retorted.

"Right..." Panther grumbled.

"...Hmph." Leon hissed.

I soon look at Wolf.

"Just so this is clear, Wolf, I have no choice here but to draw a truce, but next time, we fight." I growled at him.

"Sure, sure, kiddo. Maybe next time, I might actually blow that ride of yours off the skies." Wolf responded. "We're not done here, anyway."

"Hmph!" I pouted, as I pick up my machine gun to shoot down any threats ahead.

"You're on my Wolfen, Fox, you better not disappoint me and let them scratch my paint." Wolf said.

"Don't worry about him. You're like Wolf's surrogate gun, especially that smug boy." Panther added through his comms.

"How nice, the pot calling the kettle black." I retorted back.

"Go ahead and blunder, I'm sure I'll get some good practice shooting both of you off the Wolfen's wings." Leon threatened.

We begin to cover for Wolf, as we both use our own heavy weapons to destroy any enemies that try to assault us from air, and take down any enemies that we see in the city.

Quite the scenic tour... If it wasn't for the Aparoids buzzing around here and breaking everything.

"Oh no... One of my favourite cafes got totalled. When this is all done, I want a first-class meal." Panther said.

"Yeah, yeah, we can hear you tell our sob stories over there..." I replied.

"Shut it, or the next target I shoot is you." Panther growled back.

In a short amount of time after that, Leon manages to get tailed by a few Aparoid fighters, and they are all gunned down with no problem.

"Ugly bugs... It's no fun fighting unshakeable enemies." Leon grumbled after the rescue.

After gunning down several waves of fighters, I manage to catch glimpse of the Royal Champion gunning down the swarms. I keep my fire onto the Aparoids that are surrounding it, but not before I say something flashy.

"Did anyone order a side-dish of Richard with cover fire?" I joked, as I fought the enemies.

"Ha ha." Colette's voice rang through. "Very funny, wasn't it? It sucked."

I was internally crushed from the words, and I even hear creased face left and right, even from Panther, Leon and Wolf.

"Looks like you got dumped, kiddo!" Wolf laughed.

I resisted the urge to snap back, and vented my anger through a mass murder of Aparoids, as Falco and Krystal passed by, with some Aparoids trailing each of them.

"They're all over us! The rest is up to you two!" Wolf informed us.

"You did it, Fox and Cross. That's one more I owe for both of you..." Falco said.

We couldn't reply, as our minds were focused on another wave of Aparoids coming in front of us.

"Sturdy little monsters, aren't they?" Wolf questioned.

"Yep." I simply replied.

"Looks like this boy is doing better than I expected. No wonder he managed to become my second rival after that battle." Panther stated.

"Well, looks like I'm better than the bird." Leon added.

I scoffed at this.

"You're not too shabby, Wolf." Slippy said.

"Looks like we can rely on you." Krystal added.

"You wanna ride on my wing, Krystal?" Panther swooned.

"As long as I'm covering Fox." Krystal replied without emotion.

"Hm hm hm... OK. Fine." Panther smirked.

As the conversation has went through, another wave of enemies have come into my view.

"These things again? They aren't worth my time!" Wolf said, annoyed by the repetition of enemies in front of him, as Fox and I shoot them down.

"Wing riding's quite the thrill." Krystal commented.

"You're looking good, you two!" Panther complimented us.

"Ha! I look forward to the day I can fight you." Leon added.

As we begin to finish off the remaining enemies, Slippy said, "Wow! Take me for a ride someday!"

"Quit your croaking, toady!" Wolf growled in response.

It took us a while to take down all the enemies, but soon enough, the airspace is clear of Aparoids, and the city is also clear.

"UNKNOWN VESSEL APPROACHING AT HIGH SPEED." ROB alerted us.

"Another enemy?" Fox asked.

"Hold it... I know that ship, and that signature..." Peppy muttered.

The ship then comes close to view, as it is revealed to be the flagship that General Pepper pilots, except there's a large Aparoid parasite on the cockpit.

"No... The General's flagship? It can't be!" I cried out in disbelief. "And he's infested!"

"Is... that you... Fox and Cross? Too late... the aparoids..." Pepper asked, in a strained and semi-robotic voice. "They took me... My body's... no longer under my control..."

The flagship then slowly shifts into its own mecha form.

"No..." Fox uttered at the situation.

"This is my final request... Destroy this ship... Destroy me... while I still can speak and have sentience... That's an order!" General Pepper said.

"Don't say that, General... I can't!" Fox responded.

"You would make me a accomplice to these fiends?" General Pepper questioned with slight anger. "Do it, Fox and Cross! End me! I refuse to be one of them!"

"That's the truth, kiddos. Accept it." Wolf said, as he shook his head.

"Why!? Why is this happening!?" Fox fumed, as his slammed his fists on the wing of the Wolfen. "Nooooooooo!"

"My body... It's betraying me..." General Pepper cried out. "Take me out, NOW!"

Soon the General's mecha begins to circle around us.

"We can't do anything but to disable his craft, Fox." I reminded him. "We must fight, or his actions will be in vain!"

"Damn..." Fox said, as he fires his own weapon at General Pepper's mecha, and I keep it at bay with suppressing fire from my machine-gun.

"Fox! General! Aahhhh! What am I supposed to do!?" Slippy panicked.

"Just fire, and ignore all desires of mercy! This fight cannot be avoided!" I responded.

"That's the way to do it. Give it your all!" Wolf encouraged me.

"I guess there's no way around it after all..." Slippy moaned.

The General's mecha begins to fire off missiles aimed at the Wolfen, and Fox and I manage to destroy all of them.

"Ughhh! Never thought I'd be fighting all of you..." The General groaned, as he becomes weaker from the attack.

"Hang in there, General, the Aparoid on your cockpit is about to be destroyed..." I replied.

"Darned bugs... Why do you have to pick on the General?" Slippy said.

Soon enough, the mecha closes the distance between us, and begins to fight us in close quarters.

"Wolf, if you can speed this thing up, now would be a good time!" I shouted.

"No reason to wait and hold back, both of you... I'm already a aparoid..." General Pepper groaned. "Let me die in battle! Do not let me transform! I will refuse to lose my honor to such savage creatures!"

"I will keep that wish, General." I replied with a solemn tone, as I immediately aim for the limbs of the mecha in a attempt to debilitate its ability to fight.

Soon enough, the General's mecha begins to begin another wave of missiles, only for it to be almost the size of a swarm, surprising both Fox and me, looking upon the salvo aimed at us, before the mecha begins to roar like a savage beast, and fire a laser from just below the cockpit.

"Crap... Fox, it's either us or him! You have to combine fire on the General with me, or the laser will obliterate the entire Wolfen with us on it!" I convinced Fox desperately.

"But, the General... I can't risk..." Fox stuttered.

"This is what Pepper wants, Fox. If we don't take him down, he'll turn into something much worse than what we are fighting him as." I said.

Fox nods, before taking down the entire missile salvo, before aiming at the core of the mecha in a desperate gamble to end the fight.

Luckily, the gamble succeeds, as the mecha then lurches back, and begins to spark electricity, while its core continously begins to explode.

"RrRAArAARagGgHhHhHhHHhHh!" General Pepper roared, as his mecha began to spasm erratically, and then stalled completely mid-air and fell down, as the core smokes from severe damage.

"General Pepper!" Peppy shouted, as he pilots his own Arwing towards the falling mecha.

"Peppy!" Fox cried.

"Don't!" I added.

However, Peppy simply ignores us, and manages to get under the mech and push it with the Arwing, only for it to fall with the mech, and crash into the ground with a tremendous thud, as both machines skid across the ground with much friction and force, that energy begins to spark from the Arwing's shield trying to defend itself from the rude landing.

Soon enough, both craft skid to a halt just right at the edge of the city, precariously close to the shore of the city.

"Peppy? You alright? Peppy? Respond, damnit! You can't possibly be done in by such a stupid thing!" I called out.

There was only silence, until a reply came.

"I'm fine... But General, are you fine as well?" Peppy replied.

"Is that you... Peppy? What have you done?' General Pepper asked weakly.

"Heh heh... Looks like I'll never make retirement now... Aagh!" Peppy responded.

"Peppy..." Fox muttered.

"Contact the forces and the medical teams... One way or the other, this battle is over..." Peppy continued, before closing comms.

The Wolfen then lands onto safe ground, as Fox turns to Wolf in the cockpit.

"I guess I owe you my life for this one, Wolf. Thanks." Fox thanked Wolf.

"I thought I told you... I didn't come to save you." Wolf replied, while leaning back a bit lazily.

"Even so..." Fox trailed.

"It's still a save, Wolf. If you want a fight next time we meet, I'll give you a much better one than the last one." I continued.

"Hmph." Wolf grunted. "If there's one thing I like to say, Fox, don't even hesitate anymore, when the time comes, just act!"

'I see." Fox said, as we both jump off the Wolfen's wings, and Wolf soon leaves the battlefield with the rest of his team.

Soon enough, Gus's Arwing appears before us.

"Like another wing ride back to the Great Fox, you two?" Gus asked.

"Obliged." I responded, as Fox and I hop onto the wings, and Gus slowly rises into the air, and moves towards the Great Fox.

* * *

MISSION REPORT

Status of Team

Golden Hawks:

Cross: Condition is better than last mission, and has not taken damage, condition is 100%, Arwing was destroyed, although he speaks that there will be another for him, from an 'unknown contact'.

Slash: Arwing taken some hits from battle, hull integrity is 75%

Shadow: Damaged multiple times by Aparoid Mines, hull integrity is 63%

Guardian: Arwing has taken moderate damage from encounter, hull integrity is 67%

Artemis: Arwing is only slightly damaged, hull integrity is 79%

Burn: Arwing is moderately damaged, hull integrity is 50%

Star Fox:

Fox: Has managed a safe return, condition is 100%, Arwing is destroyed.

Krystal: Arwing has managed to take some hits, hull integrity is 76%

Falco: Has suffered little hull damage, hull integrity is 86%

Slippy: Taken few hits, hull integrity is 90%

Flash's Crew

Flash: Unknown situation.

Royal Champion: Is considered to be in optimal state.

Debriefing:

Fox: Ships are all home safe and sound! Peppy, you can't do things like that!

Peppy: Aheheheheh... Well, hey, I still got results, didn't I?

Flash: I advise against reckless manoeuvres like that, Peppy.

Peppy: At least you formally call me by my name, Flash Dove.

Cross: I would say that you should stay in the Great Fox, next time, Peppy. I doubt that the next few battles are something you can handle right now.

Peppy: Noted, Cross, adeptly noted.

* * *

 _Time skip, to T-Minus 13 minutes before Orbital Gate activation begins._

Both the Great Fox and the Royal Champion soon warp into a place near the Orbital Gate, which is a massive hexegonal-ring structure with all kinds of components, including energy cells to fuel the portal gate, and plating to increase the gate's durability. The entire fleet army of the Cornerian Forces stand-by in front of the gate, with swarms of fighters, and groups of battlecruisers and superbattlecruisers.

Inside the Great Fox, the two teams who reside in the carrier are up in the bridge, preparing for a briefing.

"Guess this battle is going to be huge, guys." Richard said. "It's a space war of suitable proportions, and a war of attrition and defence at that."

"We'll do our best to provide support to all of you guys. Perhaps the Orbital Gate might even bring us back to our own era, if we are lucky enough." Flash replied.

"Hope you do. Hope you do..." Richard assured him with a smile. "At least a contact of mine managed to build another Arwing, and it's more sleeker compared to its predecessor."

"Truly is, Richard." Fox said. "Seen it before, and it looks like the Arwing taken a step up into the future, like a new model."

"And why does he get to pilot it again?" Falco scoffed, while his arms are crossed.

"Because it's a replacement from a contact of mine. Call it a debt to me." Richard spoke back.

"The stars... They look more beautiful than the ones back in my own future." Antonio commented on the view.

"That's why we must fight. We must fight to protect this serene skies and space of the system." Link added.

"We should be prepared, you two." Zelda informed them. "The briefing can appear at any time."

"Been a while, since we had a fight as big as this one, remember Fortuna, teammates?" Richard stated

"Yes, it was the first and best battle that we showed our potential and our results from training and drilling." Impa replied.

"Shh... The briefing is on screen now!" Gus captured every person's attention to the screen, for the briefing.

* * *

 _Soon enough the usual briefing room format appears, and the screen shows a map of the area around the orbital, and a diagram of how the wormhole will work to reach the aparoid homeworld._

Beltino: We did it, team. We found the location of the homeworld!

Fox: Great news, Beltino. Forward the information to us and we'll start the invasion!

Beltino: Wait! You can't go, at least not before I give you something you'll need, or you'll only be killed without it. Take the self-destruct program.

 _Diagrams of how the self-destruct program works appear in place of the previous images, and the images of the self-destruct program bomb appear as well._

Cross: What does it do, Beltino?

Beltino: Well, let's just say, that these Aparoids aren't perfect in cellular defence. They contain apoptosis, which mean they have cells that are designed to self-destruct itself and destroy nearby cells in the process. I created a bomb to create a chain reaction for this! If you fire this bomb into the queen, all aparoids will self-destruct!

Falco: So we just take a shot into the pot-hole, and we'll finish them with one shot?

Beltino: Indeed. It's a perfect solution.

ROB: A HUGE APAROID FORCE HAS WARPED IN. THEY ARE TARGETING THE BASE.

 _A radar of the nearby area appear, indicating aparoids with yellow dots appear, and there are thousands of dots appearing around the orbital gate, surrounding the blue dots that are the entire Cornerian space fleet._

Peppy: They aren't going to make our trip to their home-world an easy one.

Beltino: If the gate falls, we won't be able to reach their home-world and initiate the plan with the program bomb!

Guardian: So it's a matter of protecting the gate until the program can be complete to be transferred? It suits my name well to do this task.

Cross: Hang on… I'm getting another person coming into the comms.

Dog Soldier: Hello, is this the Golden Hawks?

Cross: This is. Cross, leader of Golden Hawks.

Dog Soldier: We're Houston Squadron. We are under General Pepper's orders to become your relief and support. We elites are all ours to command.

Cross: Well, ain't this nice, we got a big squad to back us up, right Burn?

Burn: It is perfect for us. By having them with us, we can protect each other in the battle, and minimise damage sustained.

Cross: Don't worry about me, Burn. Damage is not much of a problem with this new Arwing.

Fox: Alright, it's time! We cannot let this gate fall!

* * *

MISSION 7: Defence of the Orbital Gate

Briefing: In orbit above Corneria is an orbital gate. At the present time, federation scientists are proceeding to create an anti-aparoid program bomb that can help end the war prematurely. Star Fox and Golden Hawks must defend the gate from any Aparoid intrustions, and maintain the Cornerian fleet, which is also assigned to the defence of the orbital gate, until the weapon is complete.

Team Members:

Fox: Arwing combat

Falco: Arwing combat

Slippy: Arwing combat

Krystal: Arwing combat

Richard/Cross: Ground combat

Impa/Slash: Arwing combat

Zelda/Artermis: Arwing combat

Link/Guardian: Arwing combat

Antonio/Shadow: Arwing combat

Gus/Burn: Arwing combat

Missions:

-Defend the orbital gate

-Protect the Cornerian fleet from obliteration by the Aparoids.

-Survive until anti-aparoid weapons are complete.

* * *

 _In orbit over Corneria_

 _Richard's POV_

I immediately rush through the ship towards the hangar, and dock into my new Arwing, which has the same wings and engine before, but the glass on the cockpit is more of a yellow hue, and has twin lasers in the front of the Arwing, in addition to the side lasers, increasing my firepower significantly, and in the cockpit, I have been shown that I have gained a fifth level to my weaponry, which I can assume would be a literal hail of lasers onto anything it fires upon.

Soon enough the HUD of the Arwing boots up, but not before leaving a digital message in the form of white computerised letters, "THIS ONE IS A GIFT FOR ALL YOU DONE FOR ME. IT WON'T BREAK EASILY. HOPE YOU LIKE IT! –CREATOR".

I smile at this. Looks like the Creator is truly grateful for all I have done for her.

I immediately prepare to take off, before I hear a female robotic voice, almost sounding like Cortana, except it is slightly more juvenile yet still mature, announce those four words when I activated my throttle.

"Oh? Who's there?" I asked the voice.

"I am EVO, your personalised ship AI. I am capable of many actions, including the use of auto-pilot with varied protocols and commands, and advising battle situations." The voice, now known as EVO spoke back to me. "I also possess the ability to gain a personality, but that process will require several certain actions to create one that will suit you."

"Nice, you're a good one." I said, after I whistle at what's she's capable of.

"Thank you, Richard Liu." EVO replied politely. "Would you perhaps like to do a pre-battle analysis?"

"Tell me while I proceed to battle." I order the AI, as I immediately jet out of the hangar, and out into the battle, while the rest of my team are already into in battle, and by the looks of it, the battle so far is going smooth, but it could turn ugly by a single mistake.

Cornerian fighters and Aparoid drones battle each other in a dance of death, firing upon the tails of their enemies, and weaving through fire, and the larger ships fire upon each other, and take damage as a result.

As for my team….

"Whew, you weren't joking about this being a big battle, Cross!" Antonio said. "They're everywhere!"

"Keep firing, Antonio, try to use your bombs to keep them under control, if they really annoy you." I reply, while immediately gunning down some enemies, and taking in two power-ups, activating the third tier of my weapon to cause more damage to enemies, and even taking a extra power-up to the fourth tier.

"Analysis complete, Taking into the factors of experience and fire-power of both the Star Fox team and your team overall, and the balance of power that both forces in the battle are stuck in without your help, the possibility of a victory under these conditions: 98% and over. This battle cannot be lost unless there are dire events that happen to allies, and all major allies will be able to walk from this battle at 90% hull integrity or more." EVO stated to me, completing what it was doing.

"Good to hear odds in our favour." I commented to this statement.

Six black Cornerian fighters approach me, each with different decals and emblems, and fly in line with me, while providing fire to enemies in front of me.

"Houston Squadron are ready to support. What are your orders, Cross?" The leader of the squadron, a white husky asked me.

"I need to spilt up and provide support for my teammates. They'll need someone to check their six, so choose who you will cover, and get to fighting ASAP!" I commanded them.

"Roger!" The entire squadron called at the same time, as they split off, leaving only one of them flying behind me.

"What's your reason for being my cover, mate?" I asked the pilot of the fighter.

"I have a debt to you, sir." The pilot said, revealing that he was the same dog soldier that I saved in Katina.

"I see, so you come to pay the piper who led the rats out?" I quipped with a smirk. "You're good as you are. Keep me covered, and we'll get through this."

"Can't say no to that. After all, I owe you my life now." The dog soldier replied. "I'm Lewson. Good to be your back-up, Cross."

"Calling me Richard will do, Lewson, that's what you should call me if you want to be nice to me." I said.

I soon head towards the orbital gate, with my new wing-man trailing behind me. We loop around the arches and gaps of the portal, shooting down any long-range Aparoid turrets and fighter that have stationed nearby the gate, and are assaulting it. I even manage to help the rest of the army, by destroying all Aparoids that are tailing the Cornerian fighters, and my own teammates accompanied each by a single member of the Houston Squadron, and in return, I have earned many thanks and cheers, especially from the Houston Squadron, who were relieved to be free of the stress of having to dodge fire from behind them, with me covering them.

To be truthful, Lewson's skills are not to be underestimated, as he managed to save me from attacks from behind with a few accurate shots onto the weak-points of the aparoids, and uses tight and narrow manoeuvres to protect himself from tailing enemies, and surrounding fire aimed at him. One could say that he was an elite compared to the rest. No wonder he's a part of the Houston squadron, which I heard have seen through many battles, and turned them to their favour in mere minutes.

"Quite fitting for you to be an elite, Lewson. You are truly an ace in an ordinary fighter." I complimented him.

"I appreciate your thanks, but you're the one who saved me back there, and still proven to be the main hero of this battle, after you saved multiple units."

But just as Lewson finished speaking, the alarms in my Arwing go off like klaxons alerts in an army base, as live feed, zoomed in to certain areas, as the same red hexagonal field that indicates a large Aparoid enemy warping in, appears in areas around the orbital gate. Soon enough, the fields break to show Aparoid warheads, which have green energy pipes and flow-lines imprinted all over them, and have a cross tail to help its propulsion, and a glowing core at the end of each of them, covered by metal plating.

"What's that!?" Peppy asked.

"Whatever it is, it's heading for the orbital gate." Antonio answered that question. "It's a warhead of some sorts…."

"If it hits the orbital gate….." Gus stated in a worried tone.

"…Then the gate will surely fall in one impact…" Link finished Gus's sentence. "And there are a lot of them. I escorted Bombchus with Richard in the same fashion the Aparoids do with these missiles, so they must be truly strong and potent if they need to be defended."

"The missiles are filled with a unknown substance, that has unstable chemicals quaking with immense power." EVO analysed the invading weaponry. "The explosion of a missile filled with this substance would create explosion potent enough to wipe the entire sector clean in the blast radius, due to molecule destruction."

"Oh god….." I blurted out in fear of how destructive the missiles are, despite being creations of a hive-mind race.

"There is however a counter to such methods, Richard." EVO continued. "The missiles can be disarmed, by destroying all energy pipes and cores on the missiles. However, hitting any other area will instead detonate the missiles, and the explosions would chain to such an extent that the same scenario is reached if the missiles are shot with recklessness."

"Shit…." I swore at this fact. "That means every shot counts on them, right?"

"I am not one to force people like you to action, but the accuracy ratings of all fighter show that only the Golden Hawks and Star Fox are capable and skilled enough to take down these missiles." EVO stated.

"Then we'll have do this." I said to the AI, determined, before opening a line to General Pepper. "General, this is Cross. Do you read?"

"I read, Cross. I see the situation at hand here. I'm in a command centre down at Fichina. What is your need to speak here?" The General asked.

"I need you to tell all Cornerian forces to cover my entire team and Star Fox. If we cannot get a clear shot on the missiles, we will not be able to stop the missiles properly." I state my demands.

"Very well, I will convey this order to the commanders of this operation, Cross." General Pepper replied.

"I thank you deeply for the help, General." I said, showing my gratitude to him.

"You need not thank me, Cross. I, as a General, have the responsibility to lead my men in battle, and even if I am shaken, I will not rest as long as my men fight. May the spirit of Corneria guide you to victory, young warrior."

"Indeed, General, indeed." I replied with a smile and a salute with my other hand, before closing my comms line to the General.

I soon immediately move onto taking care of the missiles, which have progressed significantly on their path, due to my conversation with the General. While Lewson keeps the Aparoids off my tail, I immediately straighten my Arwing to take aim on the missile, moving at the same speed as it is, shooting the pipelines from the behind, and then swerving around to shoot the core, causing it to harmlessly explode, without the mysterious explosive substance in them detonating.

"One down." I called out my kill. "Star Fox and Golden Hawks, the only way we can take care of these missiles is if we take down the energy pipes and the core on it. It's the only way to destroy them without causing them to detonate."

"Roger!" My teammates yelled out simultaneously.

"Thanks for the info, Cross." Fox replied. "We got our mission, team. Let's take them all down."

Soon enough a squad of Cornerian fighters clear the Aparoids in my path towards the next missile that is not targeted by anyone.

"All right, pilots! The rest in up to you!" The leader of the squad shouted to us.

"You service is recognised, soldier, keep up the good fight." I replied, as I immediately take after the missile, and quickly destroy all of its points.

By then, the rest of the elite pilots, Star Fox and my teammates, finish up destroying all the missiles.

"Alright. That's all of them. Whatever you're doing in there, Beltino,it has to hurry. I doubt our bug-like friends will wait long." I confirmed.

Before I could add another statement, alarms blare in my cockpit's HUD, as it indicates a large warp signature, larger than the regular missile.

"Oi... Looks like I got the crow's luck here." I groaned.

I immediately checked the source of the alarm's distress, and was greeted by the sight of a much larger missile being warped in, which looks like a much more evolved version of the Aparoid missile, having a few spikes, thicker armour, and a purple warhead, and it has a larger thruster on the back.

"Warning! This missile is a mutated version, and therefore requires intense care in disarming it." EVO warned me. "If the missile detonates, there will a flat 0% survival rate for all people within several light years of the detonation site!"

"Uh, that looks bigger than a missile!" Falco stated in a worried tone.

"You think!? If a normal missile is enough to blow this entire sector to smithereens, then this one is going to blow half of the system to pieces!" I roared at him.

"Did you all hear that!? Bring down that missile!" Fox said to everyone, as he launches to deal with it.

I proceeded to target the missile, before the radar on my display indicated that there were an entire squad of Aparoids behind me, forcing me to weave instead, as I tried to get behind them.

Lewson had other businesses to deal with, considering he got some tailing enemies as well.

"Blast... BLAST!" I swore, as there were only more aparoids firing behind, even as I try to dodge them, and trying to dodge every attack was a task becoming more and more impossible.

However, I was saved once again by Lewson, who managed to swerve his fighter over to shoot down every single Aparoid that was following me, as he was shot several times in the hull as a result.

I could only hiss, as I did the same to the enemies behind him, and approach him.

"Lewson, report! What's your condition!?" I demanded from him.

"It's only minor hull damage. No systems damaged by the attack." He replied to me.

"Thank god... Don't scare me." I told him. "Do you know that I'm responsible for your condition, as much you are for me?"

"No sir... I see what you mean."

I only clicked my tongue in response, before I joined the rest of my team in destroying the missile, slowing my Arwing down to a point where I'm flying alongside the missile.

As I began to take down the larger missile, the offence of the enemy only became stronger, as more and more missile began to warp in, causing some of the attackers to break off from the larger missile, and move to intercept the other still-lethal missiles.

Soon the number of missiles are becoming too much for us to handle.

"The missiles are everywhere... There's too many!" Fox said in frustration.

"Don't you DARE give up! It's not over unless a missile hits, and we sure as hell ain't letting that happen!" I shouted at him, trying to lift his deflated spirits.

"Don't start sounding like a coward now, Fox!" A familiar voice spoke.

Soon enough, Team Wolf launched into the fray.

"Leave the missiles to us!" Wolf said.

"You again, Wolf..." I growled in a acidic tone. "Are you that itching to fight me now!?"

"I would, but considering what these missiles can do to everyone here, I'm taking rainchecks to our decisive duel until we get out chances." Wolf replied back, still speaking in his usual manner.

"Fine. But don't think that this will make me owe you anything."

"Wasn't planning to. Either way, collecting your head is the only thing I want in these current years."

I begin to continue my assault on the missile, making sure to blow both stages of it to pieces before it can detonate, as soon as the conflict was over.

"Well done everyone! The self-destruct program is finally developed and ready to be used!" Beltino thanked us through the comms.

"Woo! Way to go, dad!" Slippy cheered for his father.

"Now, is it time we give that Aparoid Queen a little gift that she might need?" Antonio smirked.

"That's right." Beltino said. "Since we have two packages of the program, we will deliver them to Richard and Fox respectively, as they are the leaders that carry the responsibility to save us all."

"Alright team, let's head back, and recover our systems!" I ordered my team, as we headed back. "Oh, and a round of applause for Houston Team, and my wing-man himself, Lewson!"

"No need for that, Cross." The leader of the elite squad replied. "You prove to be even better than what the reports and rumours say."

"No, I should be thanking you for treating me like a equal." Lewson added. "After all, you did save me, and I did pay back that favour."

We all laughed on the comms, animal and human.

* * *

MISSION REPORT

Status of Team

Golden Hawks:

Cross: Arwing has managed to take a few scratches from combat, but improved hull reduced damage, hull integrity is 95%

Slash: Arwing taken several direct hits, hull integrity is 89%

Shadow: Has not taken any damage, hull integrity is 100%

Guardian: Arwing has taken moderate damage from encounter, hull integrity is 63%

Artemis: Arwing is damaged by long-range fire, hull integrity is 52%

Burn: Arwing is moderately damaged, hull integrity is 47%

Star Fox:

Fox: Arwing has not received any damage, hull integrity is 100%

Krystal: Arwing has managed to take some hits, hull integrity is 87%

Falco: Has suffered moderate damage, hull integrity is 62%

Slippy: Taken many hits, and left wing is damaged, hull integrity is 45%

Flash's Crew

Flash: Unknown situation.

Royal Champion: Has fended off most of enemy force, and taken no serious hull damage.

Debriefing:

Fox: All ships are home. Is the gate safe?

Peppy: Yep, they're fine.

Cross: Hey Flash... I wonder what will happen when you leave. Will you forget me, or will you remember me but we will always be locked in separate realities?

Flash: I'm not sure... But whatever happens, you can remember the honour of working with a famous dimensional pirate like me.

Cross: Heh... I'll never forget you, as long as you do the same. After all, you're working with a growing multi-versal saviour. I wonder how many of my kind exist...

* * *

 **A/N:** I would like to apologise for the late chapter. I was busy with upcoming exams and other requests from people about stories, that this chapter came out a bit late. Still, this story is not dead, nor is it on hiatus. I hope you guys enjoy the story, as it only stands to become much more interesting as it goes.


	20. Chapter 12 (Final) : End of a War

Multiversal Chaos Chapter 12: End of a War and Farewells

A/N: Flash and his crew property of ChaosFlash912, and Richard, Gus and Lingyue are my property, and Antonio is property of Panther J. The rest belong to their respective franchises, and are possibly OOC.

In the previous chapter:

 **"That asshole is going to get what's coming to him."**

 **"This isn't the time to be thinking about such things. You must not falter here. We may be too late, but we can salvage this situation, by ensuring that Corneria is evacuated safely, with all that remains, citizens and infrastructure, intact."**

 **"Hey. It's alright. I'm with the good guys. The Aparoids are gone for a while."**

 **"Guess I let my guard down..."**

 **"Yeah, yeah, we can hear you tell our sob stories over there..."**

 **"It's still a save, Wolf. If you want a fight next time we meet, I'll give you a much better one than the last one."**

 **"Analysis complete, Taking into the factors of experience and fire-power of both the Star Fox team and your team overall, and the balance of power that both forces in the battle are stuck in without your help, the possibility of a victory under these conditions: 98% and over. This battle cannot be lost unless there are dire events that happen to allies, and all major allies will be able to walk from this battle at 90% hull integrity or more."**

 **"All right, pilots! The rest in up to you!"**

 **"No, I should be thanking you for treating me like a equal."**

Remember:

Normal Dialogue: Normal Text

 _Thoughts and Flashbacks: Italics_

 **Special voices: Bold Text**

 _ **Special Voices 2: Bold and Italics.**_

* * *

 _Over Corneria's orbit..._

Soon enough, the entirety of the Cornerian fleet, with General Pepper's flagship being in the front-line of the fleet formation, with the Royal Champion being beside it, and the Arwings of both the Star Fox team and the Golden Hawks team, lead by their own respective leaders in front, are waiting in front of the Orbital Gate.

"Zypher Ring now expanding. Main rib block disengaged." One of the engineers announced, as the Orbital Gate began to shift, as it then sent out several teleportation gate emitters. "All blocks, orbits confirmed. No anomalies detected. Commencing energy exposure."

Soon the emitters line up in a circular formation, before they fire a green laser that connects with the others around them, and forms a green circle in mid-space, as the emitters then each fire a laser, that converge in the centre to form a green orb of light.

"Expanding gate lens." The engineer continued announcing the procedure, as the orb soon expanded, before it filled the circle. "Gate creation successful."

Inside the Great Fox, Peppy soon stands up from his seat.

"Well, it's almost time." Peppy said.

"OPENING FLEET-WIDE TRANSMISSION CHANNEL." ROB intoned, as it managed the systems of the ship.

"Attention, fleet of Corneria. We in command have done all we can." Beltino spoke. "From here on out, we're entrusting everything to you. So please, do your best... but try to come back alive."

"Ok Pop..." Slippy replied from his Arwing, slightly worried.

"Link the gate!" Beltino ordered. "Target: The Aparoid Homeworld!"

"OK! Is everyone ready?" Fox asked everyone.

"Team's all set to go, Fox." Richard replied. "We're in optimal state to begin our final battle."

"We're ready when you are." Gus added. "Flash is also prepared for battle, and so is his crew."

"Understood." Fox replied. "Star Fox! Move out!"

Soon the fleet enter the portal, as they disappear through the green warp gate.

* * *

 _Over the oribt of the Aparoid Homeworld..._

As the fleet soon exit through the warp-hole, they are met by a surprising sight, where there was not a single Aparoid lurking in the space, and a purplish planet with a moderately cloudy appearance is seen in front of them.

"COORDINATES OF APAROID SYSTEM CONFIRMED AND STORED IN MEMORY." ROB stated.

"This is it!?" Falco exclaimed.

"It's lovely... I wasn't expecting that..." Krystal said.

"Wait... its size and mass are disproportionate!" Peppy hurriedly spoke, realising something.

"How? EVO, run a scan on the planet. Check if there are any abnormalities that need to be noted." Richard asked.

"Scanning..." EVO stated, as the cockpit of Richard's Arwing was flooded with tablets of data regarding the planet, before most of them were removed to show the essential statistics of the planet. "Peppy Hare is correct. The planet's mass and size are different, and the cause has been identified."

Soon, a picture of the back-side of the planet is shown, revealing that the planet has a massive purple Aparoid hive on the back, with blue flowing cracks on the surface, revealing how deceiving the planet looks in comparison to what it harbours.

"General Pepper, Peppy, I think I found our target..." Richard said.

* * *

 _Soon enough the usual briefing room format appears, and the screen shows pictures of the aparoid hive._

Peppy: Look there! That must be where the aparoids came from... Maybe we could use it to make our way to the planet's interior.

Slippy: But after the aparoids come out, it looks like some sort of shield goes up!

Guardian: And that kind of shield looks quite strong to me... I think it's more stronger than the ones that are used to protect your bases.

ROB: MULTIPLE SHIELD GENERATORS DETECTED. DISPLAYING NOW.

 _A map of the aparoid hive appears, with coloured spots indicating the shield generators._

Fox: If the past is any indication, there'll be hatchers along with those shield generators, huh?

Peppy: Even if we could move forward, that's as far as we'd get... It'll be dangerous, but we've got to demolish all of those generators and turn off that shield!

Cross: Don't worry, Artemis, Burn and I are heading planet-side to deal with that problem.

Fox: Krystal and I are going to, you're going to need all the help you can get.

Slash: We would be grateful for that.

Cross: Also, I have also detected that there's a Darkness signature here. Well, EVO did.

Flash: Who is it?

Cross: The very person you're looking for, Flash. Lingyue is back to fight us again.

* * *

MISSION 8: Operation Bug-Buster

Briefing: The Corneria armada now has control over the skies above the aparoid homeworld, and are beginning their assault on the main aparoid hive cluster. The entrance to the heart of the planet is sealed by a impenetrable shield, formed by four shield generators on the four sections of the hive, accompanied by several Aparoid hatchers to each generator. Golden Hawks and Star Fox are assigned to bring the generators down, and allow the Cornerian armada to strike the decisive blow to end the Aparoid war.

Team Members:

Fox: Ground combat

Falco: Arwing combat

Slippy: Arwing combat

Krystal: Ground combat

Richard/Cross: Ground combat

Impa/Slash: Arwing combat

Zelda/Artermis: Ground combat

Link/Guardian: Arwing combat

Antonio/Shadow: Arwing combat

Gus/Burn: Ground combat

Missions:

-Destroy the shield generators

-Rout Lingyue

-Lower ground Aparoid defence as much as possible

-Protect the Cornerian armada from Aparoid retaliation.

* * *

 _In the skies above the central Aparoid Hive._

 _Richard's POV_

As soon as we deployed from the Great Fox, through generic procedures that I am not interested in repeating, we soon take off to the skies, where the Aparoids have already began battle with the Cornerian fleet, either infecting or destroying them piece by piece.

I soon intercept a group of Aparoid fliers, and shoot them down with the help of EVO, who managed to help me aim better with crosshairs that can be used to predict enemy movement, and therefore hit them with great accuracy. After taking said group out without attracting the fire from the other Aparoids, I soon pick off the Aparoids that are firing ranged projectiles from afar, helping to save as much as the Cornerian fleet as possible.

Great and mighty the fleet may be, it's not going to leave without any losses. My point is exactly proven as one of the larger Aparoids took down a entire squad of Cornerian interceptors in one beam strike.

One would think that this battle would be as easy as it seems in the game, but when you're behind the cockpit, things tend to get intensely harder than they look. If I hadn't training my team to fight in this kind of setting, we would be long destroyed since our first mission back when we assisted the Cornerian fleet against Andross's remnants.

But bygones are bygones. My mission now is to end this war once and for all, before more deaths are piled on the records of this battle.

After managing to secure a landing point for me to dock off my Arwing. I vault over my cockpit, and enter the battle guns blazing, with Fox already out, and in front of me.

"I'll cover your flank, Fox!" I call out, as I soon fire my machinegun to provide covering fire for Fox, hitting most of the Aparoid Crawlers that are heading towards him.

"Thanks for the assistance, Cross." Fox replied, as he moved forward, and fired upon the enemies with his blaster, often charging up to take down groups of enemies in one shot.

Soon enough, we advanced through the waves of Aparoids, and managed to reach one of the hatchers.

"Take this, Aparoid scum!" I roar, as I fire full-burst on the hatcher, as it is hit continuously, before being destroyed.

"APAROID HATCHER DOWN." ROB announced.

"Good to see one of them down, too bad our forces aren't doing too good. We've already got large amounts of causalities from the attacks. We've forced to retreat with a fifth of the fleet down and destroyed without any chance of recovery. Even the 'Cerberus', one of our more experienced ships, has fallen to the assault." Peppy replied. "Listen up, everyone! We gotta breach that shield, or we'll be sitting ducks in battle."

"Acknowledged, Peppy." Fox answered back.

"We'll deal with the generators ASAP, in fastest double-time." I added.

Soon enough, another voice came from the comms.

"This is Artemis. I've reunited with Krystal, and we have destroy all east-bound hatchers and the generator in that sector. We are proceeding for the centre sector to reunite with any other forces." Zelda's voice rang out through the comms.

"Rec-" I tried to reply, before I was interrupted by yet another person entering the comms.

"Burn here, I managed to land in a spot where a Landmaster has been dropped at, and I'm proceeding to the centre sector as well. I've cleared all primary targets in the northern sector and cleared out most of the Aparoid ground forces." Gus's voice reported his status.

"All ground units, we are already inbound of the centre sector, and we have destroyed one of the hatchers placed in the area. I plan to regroup with all units, and launch a fierce offence on the remaining two generators and the hatchers near them. Is this suggestion agreed upon?" I answer back to both teams.

"Affirmative!" Gus's, Zelda's, and Krystal's voice rang as one in agreement.

I closed off the comms after saying that, as Fox and I proceeded to take down approaching waves of Aparoids, while we wait for the rest of the team to arrive, as we moved to the highest ground we can access, which was a look-out linked by a ramp.

Before we were under any kind of threat from the endless waves of Aparoids, the rest of the teams appeared, guns blazing, with Gus crushing anything smaller than the track under its treads, and firing blasts everywhere to blow off groups of enemies, and Krystal and Artemis ran in guns blazing, sparing nothing in their path.

"Damn well to see you again, Artemis! I know that you would be a bad-ass!" I roar to Zelda.

"Thanks for the compliment, although I do not fully understand what a 'bad-ass' is." Zelda replied.

Fox and I soon sprint down the ramp, firing as we go, and we both move towards the southern sector, where one of the generators are, while I saw the other three members take to the western sector to finish off the other active generator.

We then continue to advance through the defences set by the Aparoids, with me leading forward, and using multiple evasive manoeuvres to avoid any oncoming fire, before we made it in front of a generator, which was a green crystal binded to a energy panel linked to the entire Aparoid hive.

"Fox! We did it! Now all we have to do is take it down, and our mission will be ov-"

"Where do you think you're going, little rat?"

At hearing that phrase, a familiar feeling appeared in me.

The feeling of a kind of fear that wants to make me piss my pants, and never experience again, to be more accurate.

I muster all my courage to turn around and face someone that I dreaded to see again.

In front of me... was Lingyue again, and he is smiling like a shark, with some of his teeth actually making that simile seem plausible at least, and the twisted sword that he bears is crossed behind his back, across his shoulders.

"Well, well. It's seem that luck has befallen me, to meet you again." Lingyue smirked. "I've been looking to eradicate you truly this time, since my last one was so interrupted."

"You... I won't go down that easily this time!" I say, determined, as I pull out the sword of Heaven's Will, which I sheathed behind my back in a long pouch.

"Keep saying that to your self." Lingyue said, ignoring my tone, before charging at me, with the sword raised. "It's make KILLING YOU ALL THE MORE PLEASURABLE!"

I manage to use my reflexes to block the blow with my sword, as the tortured metal of Lingyue's weapon creates dancing sparks along the clashing points of the blades.

"Fox, destroy that generator, and rendezvous with the others! I'll hold him off myself for a while, but you need to hurry!" I shout to him.

"But, you will be destroyed by hi-" Fox tried to reply.

"GO! NOW!"

Fox sees the desperation in my eyes, and only silently nodded, before he then threw a grenade behind himself to blow the generator, and he retreated away from the clash.

"My my... So you gotten a little stronger than last time." Lingyue spoke with a smile. "BUT IT WILL BE USELESS IN THE END!"

Before I could even interpret those last words, his other hand let go of the sword, and punched me deep into the stomach, sending excruciating pain, and making me vomit some of my own spit, before I am knocked back by the very blow of the attack, onto the generator.

I soon clutch my chest, in a futile attempt to contain the pain soaring through my entire torso currently, which felt like a wrecking-ball of its exact size smashed my ribcage to smithereens. I could tell that there was no internal damage from the blow, since I couldn't taste any of my blood gurgling out of my mouth, and I could weakly stand up, even given that massive blow.

"Standing up makes no difference in the outcome of the battle." Lingyue taunted. "NOW DESPAIR, FOR YOUR DEATH APPROACHES!"

Lingyue then charges at me again, as I brace myself for another heaping of pain, only to be met by the sight of Flash smashing through the walls of the hive with pure strength, and his dual Keyblades drawn out, before he then hits Lingyue with the momentum of his fall, sending the General of the Darkness flying into a wall, and leaving a crater from the impact. However despite all the damage, Lingyue only gets up, and spits off a wad of saliva, untainted by blood.

However, his expression was utterly livid.

"You again..." Lingyue growled. "HOW DID YOU SURVIVE!?"

Flash only looks at Lingyue with hateful eyes.

"Because you're not strong enough to be the death of me." On his mind, I could tell Flash had one thing on it: Revenge. "You...you thought you won against me, but no. Oh no. It pays to have the Ultimate Nurse in my crew."

 _Of course, I never saw, but Lingyue's own confidence was his weakness. Mikan Tsumiki was a medical prodigy, Despair or not._

"What? What are you-" Lingyue was about to get out, but Flash shot a Firaga at him to get him to shut up.

"Eh, why should I even bother monologue to someone who has already done it to Richard in the first place, and failed to notice my crew's doctors dragging their captain and their comrades away to safety for treatment?" Flash now sported a coy smirk, as Linguye just looked like someone smacked him across the face. "Yeah, I firmly believe that everyone in viable in a battle like the one at Sauria. That's why I brought the whole crew."

 _I always knew that Flash was smart, for if he wasn't, odds are he'd be dead by now. But he wasn't alone._

"Ah, so you're the one who put my darling Captain in the emergency ward." It was Camilla, and riding along with her was Colette and Mikan. Camilla pointed her axe directly at Linguye. "So I'm in a MOOD - if this hurts, I'm not sorry."

"Same here!" Colette already had her fists primed for punching, and Mikan revved up her Medigun, leaving her Blutsauger in a place where it can easily be reached.

I soon get up, as my own spirit was raised by the reinforcements I received. I may not know what this General of Darkness is capable of, and he might beat us alone. But there's one thing I know:

I didn't get this far to surrender to something crushingly stronger than me. Even I die here, I will die fighting like a true hero, instead of cowering behind people.

"Thanks for the help, Flash." I said, smiling at the predicament. "Because of you guys, I decided that I'm done fearing this ass-hole. He's strong, but he doesn't stand a chance when we're serious."

"How dare you..." Lingyue growled. "You think your pathetic friends will save you, after I crushed you all with little effort? Your friendship is nothing more than a burden that you all carry. A burden that will bring your quick end!"

"Wrong." I reply, glaring, before I pick up my machine-gun. "My friendship is what fuels me on."

I soon press a button that I hid within the mechanism of the gun, as the gun begin to separate itself into different parts.

"I may be weak, and I may be naive..." I continued, as the floating gun parts then reformed themselves into a different shape altogether. "But it's because of my friends that I stand here now. And because of friendship..."

The parts then lock themselves over my arms, before they form futuristic arm gauntlets, with a band on the elbow, which them lit green, when the parts were altogether on my arm.

"I lived through hell and battle, and I stand here to fight... LIKE A TRUE HERO!" I said, as I shift into a battle pose.

"You can make all the useless banter you want, but you will never be able to defeat us." Lingyue hissed. "You are merely a puny part of the existence that runs through this multiverse, and I am one with the entire nothingness that has been plaguing all of space and time. NOW DIE!"

Lingyue then rushes at me, but this time, I adapt a sense of clarity and calmness, as I soon block the blade with one of my arms, before I then twist around to round-house kick Lingyue in the face, as he is knocked back.

"You... How did you get so strong all the sudden!?" Lingyue replied.

"Because, I wasn't being serious when I was using my gun and sword." I answered back. "If you really observed me all the time in the other universes, you would know why."

"It is... because I possess hope."

* * *

 _Flashback to Richard's time in the Hyrule Warriors Universe..._

 _Richard is soon knocked back by a blow from Impa's blade, which was a wooden copy of her own blade, as he is unarmed with only his own arms and fists as his weapon, as they sparred in a grass field near the camp of the Hyruliean Army._

 _"What's the matter, Richard?" Impa asked in a strict tone to Richard. "Have you really lost your will to fight?"_

 _"No... I'm not giving up yet!" Richard said, before he then charged back at Impa, with his fist raised to land a hook._

 _Impa only scoffs, before she then swings the blade over Richard's fist and smashes him on his nose, sending him tumbling back, as Richard clutched his nose._

 _"If you really haven't given up, why are you so weak in attacking?" Impa asked. "If that's all you got, you may as well surrender to the enemy!"_

 _"LIKE HELL I WILL!" Richard roared, before he then hastily got up, and charged at Impa much faster, before he then managed to block Impa's sword, only to be slammed in the fore-head by the grip of the weapon, and knocked on his back._

 _"Then show me your resolve! Show me that you deserve to be a hero like us!" Impa shouted at Richard. "Show us that you are determined to fight to the bitter end!"_

 _"But I don't have my weapon! How am I supposed to fight, if I don't have Heaven's Will to battle with!" Richard replied back in anger._

 _"Then you are nothing more than a spoiled brat, if you really rely on that weapon of yours! Warriors are praised by their own power and strength, not by their own weapons!" Impa retorted back. "If you can't get that through your head, then you aren't worthy of being a member of our army!"_

 _Richard only lies there, silent, before he then though back to the very first day he landed in this universe, and then to the times he was praised for his actions, then to when the army cheered for his victory, and then to the times where the young and innocent citizens prayed for his victory._

 _He then realised his own purpose, as he then got up, and fought back with renewed vigour, blocking every blow with his arm, regardless of how painful each strike was, and managed to knock Impa into a disadvantageous position._

 _"RAAAAHHHHH!" Richard yelled, as he then slammed a strong upper-cut into Impa, sending her flying a few centimeters off the ground, before she landed on her back._

 _Richard then began to pant from exhaustion, as he kept a stiff eye on Impa, who then got up slowly._

 _"So... You realised your purpose, then? I could feel that blow of yours was filled with strength to back your resolve." Impa replied._

 _"I do. I finally realised why I fight and battle, Impa." Richard wheezed with a ragged breath._

 _"Then what is it, Richard Liu, that you fight for?" Impa asked him._

 _"To bring hope to everyone in the multiverse, even the ones who don't deserve it. That is why the Creator sees me as the best person to be a Multiversal Saviour." Richard answered._

 _Impa then smiled at this, before gripping Richard by his hand._

 _"Then you are truly a worthy hero." Impa replied. "Perhap that is why you were chosen as a hero by this 'Creator' goddess of yours."_

 _Richard smiled back, as the two of them walked back to their own camp._

 _"Yeah, the purpose of why she really sought me is still unclear to me..." Richard said. "But I will find out sooner or later."_

* * *

 _End of Flashback._

I then shift into a position, as Flash then rushes from behind me to Lingyue, dual-wielding his Path of Honor and Nohrian Conquest keyblades, and smashing through Lingyue's defences more efficiently than last time he fought.

"Have some Thundaga!" Flash shouted, as he casted two Thundagas back-to-back, with the first being blocked by Lingyue, and the second smashing through his guard and giving him a hearty zap.

"How... HOW!? I crushed you easily before! Why are you suddenly able to damage me!?" Lingyue roared.

"Because you caught us off-guard the last time we fought. Now that I've prepared myself for a re-match with you, you stand a slim chance of beating us, provided you are still as strong as before." Flash taunted back.

"CURSE YOU! I am a General of the Darkness, and I won't fall so easily to a humane and soft pirate like you!" Lingyue shouted, before he then swung his blade at Flash, releasing black flame projectiles.

Taking my opportunity from Lingyue's hesitation, I soon pull off a slide under the black flames, and then raising up to give Lingyue a strong upper-cut, where I heard a loud crack from the impact of metal against whatever flesh this demon has, as he is sent back.

I then jump up, assisted by the light gear that I wear, and soon smash a fist into his chest, and send him flying back into the same wall he was knocked back in by Flash.

Lingyue then tries to get up, only to see a charging Colette, with her arm raised to strike him with her proud fists.

"Oh, you ain't getting your chance to get up!' Colette roared, before Lingyue then simply grimaced, before then dodge-rolling to the right, where Colette's attack hit the wall and then poising his blade to strike the lady.

Camilla then flew close enough with her griffon mount, to get in range to attack Lingyue, swooping from the skies, and swinging her axes down onto Lingyue, who only manages to block them both with his blade, only to be hit by a large Blizzara from Flash, and Mikan then fired her own guns at Lingyue, making the being flinch with significant damage done to his armour.

"You don't have one opponent, but five!" Flash replied. "In layman's term, you're fighting a losing battle."

"That's right, I'll make you mince-meat for all you did to my dear Flash!" Mikan said, with a mad smile on her face.

Lingyue only growls, before he then rose a hand, as a purple orb appeared in his hand, and he then slammed the palm of the hand into the ground, as the ground then glows purple.

The moment, the ground glowed, I felt a crushing pressure placed all around me, pushing me down and forcing me to lay on the ground, as Flash, Mikan, and Colette were forced to do the same, with Camilla began to drop from the sky, as her griffon was dragged down.

 _Damn... it... the gravity is so strong... This is not going well for us..._

"You, Flash Dove, are nothing more than a hitch in my plans." Lingyue hissed, as he rose his blade. "If it wasn't for you and your crew's interference, I would have had the time to kill all the heroes, and then finish the weak child that the Creator chose. But no, you decided that you want to play a hero and save the people here, even though they are doomed to die."

Lingyue then approached Flash Dove, who was struggling to break the hold the abnormal gravity has over him, as Mikan struggled even harder, as her face was twisted with fear.

"To be honest, I would have commended your strength to fight me at that point, but with my own power of gravity control, I will make you unable to fight at all." Lingyue continued. "But this ends now. I will teach you what's its like to be a worthless 'hero'. You think that you can save everyone with you naive ideals. But all those ideals will give you is death!"

 _No... I can't... be stopped here... If Flash dies... Then all hope is lost..._

I soon struggle harder against the gravity, and managing to get myself up on one knee, even though the pressure of the added gravity is making it hard to maintain this posture.

"Don't worry... I will spare the misery of the other people after I kill you, by killing off the others." Lingyue said. "At least you will all die together like your soppy friendship dictates!"

Lingyue then raises his blade, aiming to hack off Flash's head.

 _NO! I cannot stay down here! Flash is more of a hero than me, and deserves to live through this ordeal! Even if I have to sacrifice my own life to save his, I will not let him die!_

As that thought cruised through my mind, my body then began to feel like that it has tapped into a spring of power within it that never was found until now. With that strength, I immediately pulled myself up, as some kind of clear aura appeared around me, empowering my own body.

I soon saw a prompt in front of me, something that I have not seen for quite a while.

 **Limit Break Activated. Parameters are increased by 500% percent until Ultimate Skill is used.**

 _This power... So that's what a Limit Break is like... In order to pull off devastating attacks, one must push through his own physical limits, even if its a temporary state. That's what I achieved. My own willpower and determination has pushed my body to its limit, triggering this technique._

"No..." I muttered under my breath, without realising it. "I won't let you..."

Lingyue then turns towards me, surprised at my state.

"What!? How did you manage to stand in my gravity field!" Lingyue blurted out.

"I WON'T LET YOU KILL FLASH!" I roared, before I then rushed at him at full speed.

"Tch! Stay down, you insolent child!" Lingyue said, before he then cast another gravity field, focused on me, making me feel the crushing pressure of gravity again.

However, with this newfound power, I am only slowed down by it, as my steps began to become much more heavier and louder.

"NO! JUST FALL AND DIE!" Lingyue frantically shouted, before casting gravity field after gravity field.

However, no matter how much gravity fields were applied on my body, I simply trudged on, with my steps making craters on the ground, even astounding me at how strong I have become this instant.

 _Perhaps I have been bottling up so much power that I have just gotten something akin to a Hero's Minute. Interesting... But what power is it, that makes me so strong that stand against this demon, who is so much stronger than me?_

"It doesn't matter how much you try." I retorted. "No matter how strong your gravity may be, I won't go down as long my own will demands I stand and fight."

"You are nothing! You can't possibly defeat me, a General of the Darkness!" Lingyue roared.

I soon then step in front of him, before grabbing him by the collar, and then head-butting him, stunning him, before I then let my own instinct take over me, before I then jumped to inhuman heights before then attacking him with countless punches and kicks mid-air, damaging his body all over without any mercy.

I then stopped, before I then rose my right leg to the sky.

"This ends... NOW!" I said, before my leg then enveloped into flames. "Burning Crush Kick!"

I then smashed my leg down, smashing through his entire plate of armour, as it shattered under the impact of the attack, and he was smashed into the ground with a large crater.

I then recover mid-air, and land on the floor, as Lingyue was weakened enough to nullify the gravity field's effect, allowing the rest of the people to get up.

"Your turn, guys and girls. Give this bastard hell after what he has done." I said, before I then withdraw back, to allow Flash to finish the Darkness General off.

Flash pretty much applauded me. "Atta boy, Richie!" He beamed. "Had a feeling you would pull through for us." Snapping his fingers, he looked to Mikan, and then pointed to me, his actions being enough of an order for the ultimate. Without skipping a beat, she quickly started using her Medigun on me, my strength coming back. Camilla wasted no time grappling Lingyue.

"Colette dear, I think I've found our new punching bag." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and then stomping down on his feet with the heels of her boots, which hurt.

Flash's assistant looked to the captain, who gave a nod to the two, effectively giving the green light for Colette and Camilla to finish the job.

"That's what you get for being a cheater the first time, asshole." Flash hissed to Lingyue. After that, Colette began using Lingyue as a new punching bag, and was very eager about doing so.

During her healing, Mikan said to me, "Richard-san...thank you so much for that…" I was well aware of her relapse when Flash was kidnapped by Iago, which led to his adventure in the Fates universe. Thankfully, we didn't have a repeat of that this time.

"You're welcome, Mikan Tsumuki. I think that you're the one who deserves the thanks. After all, you're the one who saved me, no?"

I could see that Mikan blushed for a second there, before she tried to hide it.

Lingyue, being destroyed by the attacks of Flash and his entire crew, laid battered and bloody.

"Well, that's that." I say. "You lose, Lingyue."

"How can I lose to you heroes...?" Lingyue groaned.

"Because you're too weak." Flash retorted. "And now, you can't do anything, as you die."

Lingyue remains silent at this, before a evil smile creeped slowly on his face, before he then chuckled, which evolved into a fit of insane laughter.

"You think this is the end of me, Flash Dove?" Lingyue asked, as blood leaking from his mouth. "I may die, but I will never fade away from this multiverse! As long as nothingness exists, I will be recreated again and again from it. And you, Flash, are nothing more than a temporary guest in this multiverse. When this battle ends, you'll head back to your own reality, and then when the time comes, I will repay this humiliation, by killing this child and making him suffer for this! After I take this multiverse, I will travel to yours, and use my newly-gained power to make you suffer, as you watch your so-loved crew die one-by-one before your eyes, and then I will deny you the release of death and tie you to suffer in the void of nothingness!"

"In fact, lemme let you in on a little secret: If you tell a lie big enough, and often enough, you start to believe it. Especially when you tell it to yourself." Flash smirked. "Oh, and I'm not a hero. I'm a sky pirate."

Lingyue only continues to laugh. "Believe all you want, but you will be nothing but a soulless husk when I finally kill you and satisfy my own humiliation!" He chortled at Flash.

His body then began to fissure and crack, as Darkness essence, a purple wisp-like gas leaked out of him, before the body faded away like sand in the wind, as his maniacal laughter echoed through the room for a while after his defeat.

"If he dares think of harming any of my darlings, he'll have to answer to me," Camilla mused. "He won't be going anywhere but to sleep...and then to death."

"He'll answer to us," Flash corrected. "Seriously, the last guy that swore vengeance on me was a Monquistan called 'The Brass Monkey' and got his face kicked in by me, both times, without breaking a sweat."

"Hah, just what I expect from you, Flash, to be the bad-ass sky pirate that I alway respected-" I said with pride.

Before I could finish the sentence, my body soon feels all the gravity that was combined while I was in my powered-up form piled on me at that instant, as I find myself standing one second, and down on the floor, feeling like something the trying to crush me against the floor like pulp.

My own vision begins to blur from the unspeakable pain that I'm receiving, as I try to stifle my own cries of pain, as I saw a message in front of me.

 **Limit Break Deactivated.**

 **Backlash Active, all damage received during this time is piled up to be released on the instant the Limit Break ends.**

I soon turn over myself, with all my strength, as I begin to feel myself losing breath.

Even my heart... It's skipping beats and beating erratically from the pain, as my vision faded and restored itself in short periods. My own fear of death is what's preserving me now, and even that is almost not enough to keep me alive.

Flash soon came over to me, as the rest came over.

"Hey! What's happening to you?" Flash asked.

"Backlash... overloaded... my own... body." I managed to spit out.

"Let me patch you up right now!" Mikan was about to say, as she prepared to heal with a dose of Medi-gun.

Unfortunately, a Medi-gun patch-up won't do me much good. It's only meant to trick one's body into a better state, and promote cell regeneration. That's how Medics worked in Team Fortress.

My body was repulsing violently to pain, and if I don't get rid of it, I'll be dead soon enough by the sheer pain driving me to cardiac shock, or even mental overload from the feeling alone.

"No... Your... Medi-gun... won't help... There is no injury... for... the gun... to heal... but the... pain... it's going... to kill me...!" I gurgled, as my throat is getting weaker with every word spoken.

I soon muster as much strength to my own hand to point at a military-grade pouch that is on my waist.

"There... something... to help... me..." I managed to say, before I soon lay back, as my body becomes weak, and my vision blurs even more.

With darkening vision, I saw them pull out what was in the pouch on my waist: A small medical syringe, filled with the very potion that saved me once before.

Flash and Mikan spoke over me, but I was too submerged in trying to stay awake and alive that I couldn't hear any of their words, and only managed to see them, as they plunged to syringe on the right side of my neck, bringing another jolt of pain, as the substance was injected into my very bloodstream.

Unlike last time, my recovery wasn't miraculous or something. Instead of my wound disappearing like the first time, all I felt was a comfortable feeling spreading across my body, as if I was slowly sinking into a soft and fluffy pillow, as my own body begin to relax from the release of pain, and I recovered all of my stamina.

I soon blink for a bit, waiting for anything unexpected to happen, before I then groan, before I got up, and brushed myself off. After all, I suddenly fell like a stone.

"Thanks... I owe you one. Too bad there might be a chance that I won't be able to pay you back for it though." I thanked Flash, coughing a bit, as the last of the pain is released from me.

"What was in that syringe, anyway? It healed you quite fast." Flash asked.

"Ah, apologies. What was in that syringe was a potion that I brought from a reliable place, and it was in some sort of self-refilling bottle." I replied. "I never found out why the potion refills itself all the time, but it became one of my most prized items, because of how much of my own stamina and health it can recover."

"So it was some sort of miracle substance?" Mikan asked back.

"Of course, Mikan. It not only healed my wounds, but also negated any pain that originated from that wound. It counts as a painkiller and a generic health potion in one." I replied. "And considering how long our fight is..."

I soon reactivated my own comms, as I heard a jumble of voices coming through it, most of them being of the Cornerian army, but I soon tuned the out, and focused on the ones that mattered: Communications regarding my team, and Star Fox.

"SENSORS DETECTING NEW PRESENCE, PRESENCE CONFIRMED TO BE HATCHERS, UNDER THE BASE!" ROB stated.

If I knew my timeline well, that would mean...

Shit. I don't have time to waste!

I soon hastily switched to my own team's comms.

"Cross to all members! Cross to all members!" I cried out. "As leader, I ask for you to belay the orders to take out the hatchers under the base, and leave it to Star Fox! I need to support the Great Fox, effective immediately!"

"But why? If the hatchers continue to sprout out Aparoids, there will be more casualities for the Cornerians!" Gus complained back.

After hearing those words, I was in a conflict, as my own mouth ran silent.

I was forced to choose: Influence the fate of the Cornerian fleet, and save more lives by destroying the hatchers much quicker, or save the Great Fox from its demise by protecting it from Aparoid infestation. Every decision had its guilt, either because I have to bear the shame and the metaphorical blood of the dead soldiers, because I sacrificed them to save the Great Fox, or the Great Fox falls, and Star Fox figured out that I could have come to save it from the Aparoids, and the trust between us diminishes, whether it goes beyond the point of forging a alliance with them, and recruiting them into my team.

Flash and the crew only stared at me, making the situation seem more awkward.

I have to choose now, or else both options will be taken from me. So I did.

"No, Star Fox will handle the situation well. And don't forget, Burn, my Arwing isn't going with you yet, but as it comes for me, it'll shoot anything that is of highest priority, which is the hatchers." I replied solemnly.

There was a bit of a silence before a reply was made. "I see. We'll support the Great Fox then."

"Thank you for the trust, team." I answered back, before I closed off my comms. "I need to leave, Flash, the final battle is approaching, and I have to be there to lead my teammates. If you want to come, you can, but be prepared for one hell of a fight."

I soon run back towards the central sector, and then exited the base through a opening, where my Arwing was laying in wait, as I docked into it.

"I have heard from your communications that you desire your team to support the Great Fox in its battle, Richard Liu." EVO spoke to me. "But I also analyzed your voice, and detected from it that you had hints of remorse and guilt in your voice as you spoke, and even had the slightest hint of anger hidden in it. As your personalized AI, I must understand why these feelings, which are rarely heard when instructing or ordering, appeared."

I only remained silent at this, before letting out a long sigh.

"It's a concept that you haven't learned yet, EVO." I replied with sadness. "I understand that you aren't perfect, but I envy you for the fact that you don't have to make hard choices, because you lack autonomous sensory capacity. You don't have to make any hard decisions yet, but when you do, you'll be hesitating to choose between the ones which can benefit your allies, or you and your forces the most. I had to choose between letting the Hatcher live a bit longer, and sprout more Aparoids to murder the Cornerians, or allow the Great Fox to fall and be infested, thus losing most of my trust with Star Fox, since they know from our previous encounters we are capable of saving their flagship. There was no third option, EVO, if you done your analysis correct."

"I sympathise with your emotions, Richard Liu." EVO answered back, after a while. "If your team was not assigned to protect it, the Great Fox will suffer a risk of being infested by Aparoids of 99.99%, odds that cannot be denied. Conversely, if your team was not assigned to sweep up the hatchers, the Cornerian army will suffer a further loss of 15% of its entire fleet, and two more of its fleet ships will fall to the added assault. However I managed to reduce that ratio to 5%, and no major fleet ships lost."

"Yes... But in wars like these, your 5% is another's misery, because that would have been 5% more than we could have allowed." I solemnly said.

Soon I take control of the Arwing, as I regroup with the rest of my team, and Star Fox, above the opening of the base.

"We've done it, Fox. The shield's down, and the lair is wide open for us to take." I congratulated Fox, considering how far we have made it in this war.

"Be ready for anything and everything! Strap up and buckle down, because we're going in!" Fox called out to everyone, as he moved in to enter the lair, as I followed after him.

"Hang on, Fox!" Slippy spoke. "Energy readings are gathering on the opening, and they are getting... stronger?"

Soon, before our very eyes, the opening to the lair was soon sealed by the same panelled shield that was obstructing us in the first place.

"What!? NO!" I cried out.

"You got to be kidding!" Fox shouted.

I soon began to unload shot after shot onto the shield, as Fox did the same, only to see the lasers are being deflected back at me, causing me and Fox to move to evasive manoeuvres away from the opening.

"Damn it... DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" I cried out, as I slammed a fist into my cockpit glass, which thankfully didn't crack under the impact. "We were so close to victory! And it was snatched from us!"

Soon enough, Peppy came rushing in, with his Great Fox... intact!?

I did it, the Great Fox is saved. Now, Peppy should be able to weaken that shield.

"Don't worry, Fox and Cross, we'll deal with this problem!" Peppy called out. "ROB, divert all energy to the main guns!"

"AFFIRMATIVE." ROB announced, before the Great Fox soon fired upon the shield, causing parts of the shield to weaken from the damage around the opening.

"Dang... This shield's tough! I don't think we'll break through it in time." Peppy said.

"But we will..."

Before I could determine who said that, Gus and Antonio soon rushed at the shield.

"What are you doing, Burn and Shadow! I didn't recall telling you to attack the shield!" I called out.

They can't possibly be trying to take out the shield, they know it's futile to attack the shield with their weapons. Even the Great Fox's cannons only slightly weakened it.

Futile, unless... Oh god...

"Sorry, Cross, but if we don't try, we're all doomed to hell anyway." Gus replied to me, in a sincere tone.

"Burn? What... What are you going to do!?" I blurted out, dreading what might happen.

"I realised something, the shield is running on electronics, right? If I can use my bomb weapon, I can be able to clear some of the shield to create a opening." Gus explained. "But the problem is... the range of my bomb is very small, not big enough to fit all the Arwings in time for you all to get in. But with Antonio..."

"No... Don't you dare do this... Think this through..." I uttered, as my dread only gotten stronger hearing that.

"Shadow's bomb can crash through anything, even that shield, but by the time he pierces the shield, it would have regenerated regardless." Gus continued. "That's when I found something interesting. My bomb can be reversed, to use my own power to regenerate or empower anything nearby."

"NO! DON'T! As leader of the team, I forbid to pull this suicidal plan off! I forbid it, you hear me, I will not let you die for this!" I cried out.

"I'm sorry, Richard, but Gus makes a good point." Antonio added. "After all, all good heroes must make the greatest sacrifices sometimes. Sometimes, the cost is their own lives. With Gus's power, I can enlarge my own power field, and pierce a large enough hole for the rest of the team to enter through. But then, Gus would lose all of his vital power, and he would be unable to escape the shield closing on him. And even I..."

"Antonio... Gus... why... why do you have to do this?" I asked in sorrow.

"We knew that the shield would recover. In fact, we recovered a certain file. We'll show it to you, so that you understand why we have to do this." Antonio replied.

Soon enough, the plans of the opening to the lair were shown, and as I scanned through it, as it was in a language that I couldn't understand, however what I saw was a diagram that showed the shield being down, and then a picture of the shield reappearing, linked to the former picture, by a arrow.

"Allow me to interpret the files for you, Richard Liu." EVO answered.

The AI then swept through the files, as the alien language was converted into English, as I read through it, and began to pale what I have read, which was a coherent message.

 **You think you can deny destiny, child.**

 **I know that you have managed to save the Great Fox with your interference.**

 **However, I will not allow you to undo our precious work.**

 **You know that only the Great Fox's sacrifice will allow you in the lair.**

 **But since you let it live, you will die here, with nothing changed.**

 **As you stay here, the Aparoids will eventually tear you apart, until the Queen is destroyed.**

 **So what will you do? Will you despair, or will you 'take one for the team'?**

 **You are the one with the choice, and the one who suffers the consequences.**

 **Either way, you will suffer for your defiance against the true order.**

 **-Thieon, General of the Darkness**

They... predicted this!? Then that means, it will all for nothing? That Gus and Antonio are doomed to die?

"Richard Liu, I detect that you are in a state of shock and fear. Are you currently fine?" EVO questioned me.

"I... Where did you find this, Gus!?" I demanded.

"Ever since before I went into the Landmaster... The plans were obvious enough for us, so I created a back channel for Shadow and I to communicate, and fabricate a plan to counter this. Unfortunately, the only plan that will succeed is this one." Gus replied calmly.

"This plan... you can't be possibly be expecting to die executing it, right?" I asked in self-denial. "EVO, tell me that they can't die, that the plan will not sacrifice anyone?"

EVO only remained silent at this.

"ANSWER ME, EVO! PLEASE! I NEED YOU TO TELL ME THAT GUS AND ANTONIO WILL SURVIVE THIS!" I begged at the machine, something I thought I would never do.

"I'm afraid I cannot say that, Richard." EVO replied.

"What?" I blurted out.

"The plan will destroy their Arwings, that is guaranteed 100%, since Burn's Arwing will lose even its own reserve power if the bomb system was placed on reverse, and Shadow's systems will be overdrive by the excess power, and would short out everything. Weapons, thrusters, all of it will be destroyed from the attack." EVO coldly stated.

I only sunk back into my chair, as I began to despair in silence.

"I'm sorry, Cross, but I had to break this to you, one way or the other." Gus said. "Remember when I became your friend? I swore at that time, that I would do anything to help you, and you promised the same to me. Now, I have to follow that promise, even if I die, because I know that more will die if I hesitate."

"Gus... You're... not afraid to die? Even when the odds say that you will definitely die?" I asked softly.

"Neither is Shadow. We have to hurry... If we don't kill the Queen, more will die." Gus replied.

"Tch..." I said. "I don't care about that! All I want you to do is promise that you'll live on, even if you're facing certain death. Who knows, maybe you'll survive."

I chuckled dryly after that statement. Wishing the impossible to happen... it's possible, but the odds are stacked against to be slim.

Gus and Antonio only then rushed into the shield, as Gus then release his electric field, only that the field is expelling the energy, instead of disabling it, as I saw Antonio activate his bomb system, as his Arwing was surrounded by a field of energy, before the expelled energy was gathered in the field, as it grew and grew in size, before it was big enough to create a hole big enough for everyone to charge in quickly.

Antonio's field then met the shield, as there were harsh sounds, with energy clashing with energy, before the shield under yielded to the stronger attacking field, and fractured.

"GO! The shield's going to come back as soon as the field goes down!" Antonio called out.

I only remain silent, as I rushed into the opening of the Aparoid Lair, with the rest of my team and Star Fox following after me, before I gathered the will to speak to Gus.

"Gus, I promise you, if you're still alive, I'll search every damned nook and cranny for you, and the same for Antonio. Just... Just survive until then. Please." I said, my voice cracking from my attempt to hold back my sadness.

"...Glad to see that you really care for me, Cross." Gus replied, as I heard from his voice, that he was satisfied.

As I ran down the lair entrance, I could hear the last words between the two brave souls that held the shield for the rest of us.

"Hey Shadow."

"Yeah, Burn?"

"I wonder if we might survive this? I mean, I definitely won't survive this, but maybe you will."

"...Well, we'll pass that bridge when we get there."

"Hmhmhm... You're a funny one, Shadow. You know, I actually quite envy Cross."

"How come?"

"Well, he and I are good friends, but he is in a kind of way, a naive person. And it's because of his naivety, that he doesn't have to be affected by the darker truths of our world. I was unfortunately born with a curious mind, and so therefore, I fell into the darker side of the world before Richard even met me."

"And what does that mean for your friendship?"

"Well, Cross... He's a bit of a addict when it comes to the fandoms, and he could be easily called a true 'otaku' for his behaviour, but he does have a fiery spirit to live a good life, with good physical state and excellent education. Too bad, he's a bit of a loner. I sometimes feel like he is trying to purposely avoid being social altogether."

"Well... I guess that to each, their own weakness."

"...Heh. I could say the same for you."

"Well, I guess we're almost out of power, your link is breaking, and my system are going out of whack."

"And the shield's closing onto us. Guess we may as well to pray to God, right?"

"Heh... *krackle* I guess we do. After all, a prayer gonna *vsst* make things a bit better."

"*krst* Well, see you in heav-*psssshhhh*"

Soon enough, the communications between Gus and Antonio ceased, as their systems were either shorted out or powered down.

I only remained silent, as there was a muffled explosion sound, with a green light from behind flashed, signifying the Arwings have in fact exploded.

There was nothing I could say, that could make this any better for me.

I however prayed for the safety of both of them. Maybe they might live... Maybe they don't realise that the explosion would not kill them.

But sometimes, hope is not enough.

I begin to tear up, as I tried to force my own negative thoughts out of my mind, before I lose all my will to fight.

 _Gus... Antonio... I promise you... that I'll finish the fight on my own stead._

* * *

Soon the rest of us fly down the opening of the lair, as I continued to do my best to take my mind off the incident.

What if...

 _NO! Richard, you've gone so far to gain the trust of Star Fox. If they help you, you can be able to gain more allies._

But... If I didn't do that... Gus and Antonio wouldn't be in danger of dying. What if they are already dead?

 _Then you have to do this for them. You have no time to be tripped by guilt. If they are dead, you can resurrect them somewhere else. You know millions of places where that's possible, so there should be no problem._

As my own thoughts were conflicting with each other, again for a while, a alarm blared in my cockpit, as there were the words 'Enemies Tailing'.

"Fox... We got something trailing behind us!" I called out.

"What!?" Falco cried out.

Soon enough, the Wolfens of the Star Wolf team soon flew beside us.

"Hmph... I'm surprised you fools managed to get this far." Leon sneered.

"What was that?" Falco asked with a growl.

"Don't worry Krystal, I'll protect you from here on in!" Panther declared.

"Panther..." Krystal spoke.

"So, that's 11 ships in total. Guess that's better than just 8, or even 4." Slippy stated.

"It could have been 13..." I muttered in a grieved tone.

"What's with the glum tone, kid?" Wolf asked. "Have something bad happened to you at last?"

I only grit my teeth, trying to hold back a heated reply towards that question.

"If you're worried about those two, who recklessly broke the shield, I saw something pop out of their Arwings." Wolf continued. "And the atmosphere is safe to breathe in, so they should be fine for a while."

"...Is that so?" I asked. "You can't be too sure, Wolf. I'm already grieving for them, if they really died."

"Suit yourself, kid. You have the skill of a ace, but you're too green when it comes to the real part of war: the mentality." Wolf shrugged.

"What do you expect? I do have a tempered mind, but it's tempered in the way that I can pilot this like smooth waters." I replied in a beat.

"Hmph." Wolf grunted, before our conversation ended.

Soon enough, we managed to head into the inner sectors of the lair, with still no enemies in our path.

"Gotta do whatever it takes to reach the queen!" Fox cried out.

"Burn and Shadow made the sacrifice for us to get here. So we must finish this once and for all, for their sake." Krystal added.

Soon enough, the Aparoids were approaching us in a oncoming direction, as we all fired upon the enemy without much difficulty.

However, Aparoids are famed for their numbers, and soon enough, they were at the point of nearly swarming us.

"Fox! If we don't break through them right now, we're not going to make it to the Queen!" I called out.

"You think we're going to sit here and let you do all the work?" Wolf asked, as he shot down a few more Aparoids.

"Well, just go on and do the best you can." Leon said.

"Geez... Such complimenting words, Leon." I sarcastically replied to it.

"I ain't going to care if you die, child. We're only here because of both Panther, and the safety of our clients everywhere in the system." Leon hissed back.

I only click my tongue at this, as I continue to dodge the enemy attacks, while keeping a eye on the route ahead, which is constantly blocked by expanding shields that try to block us from entering the Queen's chamber.

However, trying to both deal with the enemy, and avoiding slamming into anything in our way slowly became difficult, as I was hit by the enemies a few time, although the shield held against all attacks.

As we passed through many passages, Wolf and his team then charged in front of us, attacking the enemy prematurely.

"Oi, what's the big idea, Wolf? You trying to pull the enemies off us, by attracting them?" I asked.

"Yep. I hate to say it, but the hope of victory lies with Fox and you." Wolf answered back.

"Typical... you expect the ones who you hate to do the job. Fine then, don't be expecting me to disappoint." I huffed back.

Soon enough, we navigated through more and more of the Aparoid lair's defense system, before we reached a large passage-way.

"We're almost there, Fox! Almost there for our victory!" I cried out in joy.

However, my joy didn't last long, as I saw a lot of Aparoids, and not just 'a lot', a entire colossal swarm of them were heading our way!

"What... the hell!? Fox, there are too many of them! We have to abort this route! Find a alternative, now-" I desperately spoke, before they fired on us.

We tried to shoot at them, but however, the Aparoids were resisting the attacks, and attacking us without rest.

"Fox... This doesn't look good! I think they have fortified their own defences!"

"Wha... How in the world?" Falco said.

"What's up? You're shaking, Falco." Leon sneered.

"Looks like we are getting closer to the grand finale, hon." Panther drawled.

"We'll distract them... You guys take out the queen!" Wolf said. "Leon! Panther! Let's go!"

Wolf and his team soon move around the swarm, before firing from them from behind, causing some of them to explode, as the rest break into three groups to chase after the Wolfens, which are continuously weaving away from us, to keep them from obstructing our path.

"C'mon, stinking bugs!" Wolf taunted them further. "Catch us if you can!"

"Wolf..." Fox said.

"Gotta hand it to him, he's a real ace when it comes to this situation." I added.

"It's time to confront the queen! Let's move!" Fox commanded everyone.

Soon enough, we managed to pass through the last passage, and enter the Queen's chamber, which was a white circular organic room, where the shell of the queens stands in the middle of the room, looking like a dormant and giant white variation of her subordinates.

Fox only gasps, looking upon the shell of the queen.

"That must be..." Falco said.

"..The queen..." Krystal finished.

"This being is responsible for the many deaths that happened all around the system..." Link seethed. "I will not let it ruin more!'

"...Fox..." Pigma's voice resonated from the Queen, albeit being slightly more mechanical.

"Huh!?" Fox blurted out.

"Fox. Don't be a fool. Stop all this nonsense." The Queen, in Pigma's voice continued.

"Pigma?" Fox questioned.

"You swine! But you're supposed to be dead!" Falco exclaimed.

"No... That's not the real Pigma, Falco..." I replied. "It's the Queen, using the memories of Pigma to replicate his voice."

"Star fox team. Accept defeat." General Pepper's voice sounded from the Queen.

"G-General Pepper!?" Slippy shouted.

"This is not sacrifice. This is constant evolution. Give in to us, and arise to conquer all." The Queen spoke, in Gus's and Antonio's voices.

"NO! Not them!" Zelda cried out in horror.

"What is going on!?" Falco roared.

"...Fox..." The Queen spoke again, in a voice that is familiar to only both me and Fox.

"Dad!?" Fox said.

"That's enough... There's no need for anyone to be hurt anymore..." The Queen continued.

"Fox... This isn't your father. This is only a perverted image of him!" I told him.

"I know." He answered back. "My father would never tell me to give up."

"...Richard..." The Queen called out to me, in a voice that is so familiar...

No... That voice...

That voice is... the Creator's!?

"Richard... There is no point in preserving what is to be destroyed. Just let go... and embrace the nothingness..." The Queen said.

"You... YOU..." I hissed increasingly louder.

However, as I heard that voice, a feeling rose in me. The feeling that filled me with a fiery vengeance, and left my body heated to the point of boiling, as my own grip on the controls became so tight, the white bone in the knuckles were pressing on the flesh and showing its white shade, and my own teeth were grinding on each other like drills smashing rock mercilessly.

The feeling of rage.

How dare that Queen mock the Creator, who has devoted her entire immortal life to protecting everything that each living thing possess, no matter who they are!? How dare it mock her, a being who had the courage, will-power and responsibility to shoulder every single burden that existed in the multiverse!?

HOW DARE IT MOCK HER, WHO HAD A HEART OF PURE GOLD TO SAVE ANYTHING!?

That's when something in my own mind snapped, like a rubber band reaching its limits, and tearing itself apart.

On that moment, my own rage swam through my mind like a relentless flood, as my own actions were taken over by instinct, not the logic of my own mind.

Simply put... My rage has blinded me.

"DDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I roared, as I soon unleashed every single bomb that was in my arsenal, and launched it towards the Queen, as they teared through the armour of the Queen without mercy.

Even after the barrage, I didn't even waste any time to relent, as I immediately boosted up-close to the Queen, before letting my own weapon rip into the other parts of the Queen, as they were torn apart in flashes of green light, that danced across the cockpit glass like party lights, as I found myself huffing and growling.

"Die... Die... Die..." I cursed the very source of my rage, as I left little of the Original Queen remaining, with only the abdomen and opening there, before I then steadied myself over said opening.

"YOU CAN BURN IN HELL WITH ALL YOUR PETTY LITTLE FRIENDS!" I roared, before launching every single charge of the Aparoid Self-Desturction Program Bomb into it, while firing lasers into it with the bombs, before I then lurched back, to watch as the Aparoid Queen begin to writhe in pure agony, from the overdose of the self-destruct program.

"Ha... Ha... Ha... Hahaha... Take that, you stupid bitch... Nobody mocks her..." I panted, as my rage subsided.

"Woah... Remind me to never tick Cross off. He looks like he just got possessed by some sort of vengeful spirit!" Falco cried out.

"It's a side that is rarely seen." Zelda replied. "The only other time he was like this is when he was fighting Wizzro in our sacred forest."

"Such rage..." Krystal replied, as she seemed to be observing my mind through the whole tantrum. "It pains to see someone like Cross turning into a moral-less beast from that emotion. I couldn't tell what it was that invoked it."

"Is it working?" Fox asked.

"I'm not sure... But..." Slippy said.

Before Slippy could continue, there was a loud rumble, originating from the remaining parts of the Queen.

"...Hm? Something's wrong, Fox!" Krystal called out.

"All for us... all things in the universe... will be ours..." The Queen intoned in a mechanical female voice, as it sunk deeper into the lair, creating a growing sinkhole underneath it.

"What!?" Fox and I simultaneously said.

"All for us... everything in this universe... exists for us... Bow before us! SUBMIT TO US!" The Queen continued.

"Is the self-destruct program working?" Krystal asked.

"It isn't! The Queen is suppressing the program!" Slippy shouted. "This is bad! If she escapes, she'll create a antibody, and all of it will be for naught!"

"Then we have no choice! We have to chase the Queen down and destroy it, so that the program will activate itself in the moment of weakness!" Fox replied. "This is it, guys! The final battle!"

"We're coming with you, Fox!" I roared. "Isn't that right, my fellow team?"

"OF COURSE!" Link, Zelda and Impa said.

We soon dived our Arwings into the sinkhole, after the Queen.

 _Current Music:_ _Queen's Core [Guitar Cover] (Star Fox Assault)_

"Look out everyone! The thing looks really steamed!" Falco warned everyone, as the Queen begin to turn itself over to reveal it's underside, which consisted of many mouths and claws, with four red weak points that look like they could expose the Queen's core inside.

"We're not giving up, Falco!" Link replied. "That thing may look tough, but we're tougher!"

"Target the red weak-points! It's the only way we can access the core inside the shell!" I advised everyone.

"Good spotting, Cross." Fox replied.

"Just make sure you don't get hit, Fox! I don't want to see another grave planted in the soil of this planet." I answered back.

Before long, the Queen was throwing acidic projectiles at us, which we managed to shoot down, before it could hit us, while shooting down any of the red weak-points that appeared, as they closed to avoid any further damage, before it then shot out lines of lightning, which we managed to dodge.

After all the weak points were destroyed, the main head of the Queen appeared, much larger than the mouths on the shell, before it then swung at us, before screeching.

"Oh my gosh! It's changing again!" Slippy commented.

"I guess it's trying to scare us off with that ugly mug!" Falco sneered at this.

Link and Impa then came forward, to attack the head directly.

"We're going to deal major damage to it! Cover us!" They called out.

"Acknowledged!" I called out, as I aimed for the projectiles that were aimed for them.

"You are our possessions. You possess our life." The Queen said.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" I cried out, before I aimed for the head, and dealt more damage to it, before it retreated, and Link and Impa headed back into our formation.

The Queen then hid its main head behind the shell, as the weak-points reappeared.

"We've come too far to be beaten now!" Slippy shouted.

"Yeah! The lives of everyone here depend on us! We can't let them down!" Zelda said.

"It's time to do or die! Let's move!" Krystal exclaimed.

After the weak-points were destroyed again by our combined assault, the main head sprung out, before charging up a laser, which it fired at us, forcing us to dodge!

"It'll take more than that to stop us!" Impa said, before charging up, and firing her weapon back at the Queen's main head.

After the attack, the Queen's head begins to malfunction, as it begins to break up.

"No! We are truth! Only us, the ultimate existence!" The Queen screeched, before the shell of the Aparoid Queen shatters apart, revealing its true core.

"Here I come, you evil space hag!" Fox roared.

"It's time for you to be usurped by the true generation, humans and Lylatians!" I added.

We soon pursue the core, as we shot at it, as it fires many bullets at us, trying to take us down with it, before Fox then charged up his laser.

"This is for Peppy!" Fox cried, as he let go of the charged laser, which slams into the Queen, before it explodes, with the Queen releasing its death screech, as it falls into the dark abyss.

"...That's the end of the queen." Fox replied. "And the end of the war against the Aparoids."

"It is." Peppy added. "The Aparoids are now self-destructing by the masses, and the explosions are phenomenal. I could compare it to fireworks, but that's not the point, the planet is crumbling, and you must evacuate, now!"

Soon the chamber begins to explode, as parts of it detach and fall into the abyss.

"Guess that's the end of them." Falco said.

"The war's finally over... We have saved so many lives..." Zelda said.

"In the end... This queen was no different to a single being." Impa stated solemnly. "It fought against natural evolution, by trying to assimilate other living beings, but in the end, it was its lack of natural evolution that brought its doom."

"All ships, evacuate at max velocity!" Fox commanded everyone.

We soon began to turn around, and head for the exit of the chamber, powering up our thrusters to maximum speed.

 _So that's it. We saved the Lylat System, and we have changed history for the better. Many more lives that are supposed to be dead, were given a new lease to life. I may have breached the original history of this universe, but I doubt these lives would affect the continuum of the history, nor will the existence of the first Great Fox in place of its successor._

However, I was taken by surprise, when there were alerts on my cockpit HUD.

 **ENEMY LOCKING ON ARWING**

"Look out, Richard!" EVO called out a warning, only for it to be too late, as I was hit with a huge impact, as my Arwing was tumbling violently mid-air, and I was slightly shaken off my pilot seat, and even my HUD was scrambled, before it recovered itself, as I righted the craft to be balanced.

I managed to position myself back on properly, before EVO pulled up a diagram of my Arwing, indicating that my upper thrusters are severely trashed, meaning that I don't have enough power to make it to the chamber top.

"Cross, are you alright!? You got smacked up by a doozy of a laser!" Falco said.

"What do you think, Falco!?" I retorted back. "Half of my thrusters are trashed because of that attack, and most of my own hull was blown off by the attack! I don't have the power to go back up"

"Cross... I don't think you'll like what you see behind you. If you really can't escape, you'll have to deal with that." Fox said, as I looked back.

 _I take back what I said. The thrusters aren't even a small minority, compared to THIS problem!_

What floats in front of me, as what I saw was a Aparoid version of one of the most infamous aerial super-weapons, the mechanical weapon APITEX, from the shoot'em up game, Ether Vapor.

I have seen that kind of boss machine before, but I never expected to see it up close. The APITEX looked like it was almost completely Aparoid-infested, with many of the tell-tale signs of infection, including a lot of Aparoid Hatchers, and blue energy veins pulsing everywhere, and even some Darkness-covered patches, which make me realise that the Darkness added a extra form to the Queen, and not one that Fox can deal with.

"Shit." I swore, with fear dripping from every word. "Of all the things it could become for its final form, it has to be THIS!?"

Allow to me explain why I almost pissed my pants in pure fear.

APITEX was no damn joke. From its original game, it was a complete and utter beast in combat. It was literally all kinds of futuristic apocalypse packed into one huge-ass aerial super-weapon. Mentioning every single armanent that this god-forsaken machine has, would make even the toughest of all men faint at how over-powered that machine is, and its armour made it look even more intimidating. You could literally chuck nukes at it like they were bullets in a chain-gun, and it wouldn't even have a single fucking scratch, and that's not overestimating it. Even Lucas, in his EX-TIO, a fighter designed to be a secret weapon stronger than all the Arwing types combined, even the one I pilot, couldn't make noticeable damage on it. It was only because EX-TIO had a Overdrive mode, that could turn it into a literal mechanical god, that it had a fighting chance against APITEX.

That's right. APITEX is LITERALLY on par with a powered-up mechanical god. But that's not the worst of it. No, APITEX went beyond the border of common sense, and had a extra form, named APITEX-EVO. That form was given even more armaments, making it even more of a unbeatable terror, and its armour has been given a new coating that makes it as durable as any WHOLE planet would be to a assault against Star Fox.

In fact, the fact that the Darkness literally added a transformation to the Queen, to turn it into this, has brought back that same feeling of fear, when I faced Lingyue the first time.

Undeniably, I have been paralysed by fear twice now. Once by seeing the power of Lingyue, and twice by seeing APITEX make its appearance.

 _For some reason, it's not attacking... But why? If the Aparoid Queen desired our destruction, then why is it not attacking?_

I remained silent, as the entire team were calling through their comms to me, trying to earn my response, but I was still drowning in fear, before I realised something.

 _Even if it's a hopeless battle, I have to fight. I have no choice, but to repel that monstrosity, before it takes down the rest of my team._ _If I were to die... then maybe if Gus still lives, he can bear the responsibility for me. That means that not all is lost. Gus may not be the Creator's chosen, but he'll be a glistening hope for the others._

I soon take deep breaths, before calming myself down, trying to rid myself of those negative thoughts, and then I spoke what I had to.

"Guardian, Artemis, Slash... As the leader, Cross... I order that you leave with Star Fox. Now." I spoke in a commanding tone, devoid of fear in it.

There were only collective gasps from the three mentioned members.

"You... can't be serious!" Link said. "How can you possibly fight that!?"

"We're not leaving you, Cross!" Zelda called out. "There has to be a way to save you!"

"There isn't, Artemis." I replied. "You saw that the blast has taken out my upper thrusters. Without them, I do not have enough launch power to break free of the gravity in the collapsing planet. What's more is that... you cannot fight this thing, especially not without me."

"We swore that we would protect each other, Cross! Are you trying to lie to yourself now!?" Impa roared.

"I HAVE NO CHOICE, SLASH! THAT... THING... IS A SUPER-WEAPON! IF YOU TRY AND FIGHT IT NOW, YOU'LL ALL DIE!" I shouted back. "I WANT TO HOLD IT BACK, BECAUSE IF I'M GOING TO DIE HERE, I'LL TAKE THIS THING WITH ME!"

Impa only remains silent.

"Please... You have to trust me..." I silently said. "Burn and Shadow might be alive. The barrier may have destroyed the Arwings, but there's a good chance that they were rescued by Flash. I... however, am doomed to die here, unless there was some miracle where my thrusters are fixed. If this won't kill me, the planet's destruction will."

"You mean.. you're going to die?" Link asked in denial.

"I... I don't know..." I answered back, without any confidence.

"..."

Soon the Arwings of my team turned around, but not before they communicated with me.

"Is this really what you want, Cross? I... I never thought you would do this to us..." Impa said, in a sorrid tone.

"I don't want to do this, but if you don't go, we're all as good as dead." I explained.

"Please promise me that you will come back... I doubt something like this will kill you that easily..." Zelda said.

"No promises... I might live if there was help, but there's a slim chance of that." I replied.

"Richard... Please..." Link said.

"I'm sorry, Link. If I die here, know that I died a proud hero, not a simple boy." I answered back, with a grim smile.

Soon the Arwings of my own team were out of the chamber, while Star Fox were still there.

"Fox... Why are you still here? The planet's... it's collapsing..." I asked.

"We can't leave you, no matter what." Fox replied. "You don't deserve to die."

"Then... I have no choice then... I apologise for what happens next." I said. "Are you there, EVO?"

"Yes, Richard Liu? What is it that you need?" EVO asked.

"EVO, I request that you have control over the Arwings of Fox Mccloud, Falco Lombardi, Krystal, and Slippy Toad." I said.

"Understood." EVO replied.

Before long, the Arwings of Star Fox were turning around.

"What the... What did you do, Cross!?" Fox asked, furious of what's happening.

"...That's why I apologise, Fox. I cannot let you fight a impossible battle." I solemnly answered him. "I knew that there would be a trap after the defeat of the Aparoid Queen, so I secretly placed a manipulation bug in your systems. After all, the team Star Fox would never back down against any opponent, deadly or not."

Fox only wears a betrayed expression, which makes my own feelings dampen further.

"So that's why I had to do it. If you stayed here, you would all die meaningless deaths. So live, Star Fox, live your life to the end. Forget about this incident. I only ask that you remember me as a fellow partner, not as a traitor. I don't want you to die for my sake, so I have to make sure you escape. I'm sorry, Fox, but in wars, sacrifices are always needed. It's only a matter of what the sacrifices bring." I continued on.

Fox only bows his head in misery, as I only sigh sadly.

"Why, Cross? Why..." Fox said.

"We don't want to die..." Slippy sobbed.

"I see that you are intent on this, Cross..." Krystal said. "But, please... reconsider... You don't have to die."

"I have no choice, Krystal. I made mines too late, and now I suffer the consequences. EVO, activate their thrusters to max speed. It's time that they have left this war for good." I declared.

"CROSSSS!" Fox cried out through the comms, before the Arwings jetted out of the chamber, leaving me alone with the infested APITEX.

"Richard Liu, I wish to inquire something." EVO spoke. "Why do you care for the lives of the Star Fox team, and the lives of your members, over your own?"

"Because EVO... A selfish captain would abandon his men. However, I am not one. I am a good captain, and I will go down with my vehicle, and prioritise the lives of the other crew over my own. My life is worth as much as theirs, so if they can live out their lives in peace and safety, then I am satisfied to die to destroy this monster." I explained.

I soon chuckle dryly.

"So it's just you and me now, APITEX." I said. "It may have been fate that the two of us would fight in some point over my journey,."

I then jerk the controls forward, as APITEX begins to arm itself.

"LET'S DANCE!" I roared.

 _Current Music: Approach_ _(Ether Vapor)_

Soon enough, the mobile fortress begins to activate itself, as there were continuous warning sirens, as APITEX then unleashed a salvo of missiles aimed at me, which I manage to avoid while strafing away from the cross-hairs of the machine, and firing back at the machine.

However, the lasers only bounce off the armour of the machine, as if there was nothing happening.

"What the!?" I voiced my surprise. "There's not even chip damage!? EVO! Scan the machine's armour!"

"The armour of the target is at maximum. Expressed in values, its integrity is 300000 out of 300000. Allow me to show you the display of its current armour." EVO said, as she showed a bar situated on the top-right corner of the HUD, indicating it's health in points, and the bar is currently white, and not emptied.

 _This isn't good... If I'm not going to be able to deal damage to it, then how will I be able to end this fight!? If I die here, then APITEX will destroy this universe, instead of the Aparoids. I never thought the Darkness would be thorough with their plans, or is it that they planned this entire matter in this universe for eons? The Darkness were a eternal force, as the Creator told me once._

 _No... I can't give up here. The battle may be looking impossible, but if I can endure, perhaps I might be able to find a weakness. There's nothing to gain if I simply give up this._

Soon APITEX begins to emit orange lasers that float out, and form barriers that attempt to slice my Arwing to pieces, if I had not narrowly dodged every one of them, before then firing homing lasers at me.

Thanks to EVO's warnings, I could predict the paths of each of them, and avoid them before they could slam into the hull of my Arwing.

APITEX then proceeded to unleash its orb-like orbitals which used different attacks, with one spiralling around the area, and firing rapid energy bolts straight-forward at a fast speed, another firing long lasers diagonally from whatever position they were, and yet another spreading purple orb bullets everywhere in my path, and finally, one that fired off a spiral of bolts from its owner's sides.

With more and more orbitals coming into the battle, the arena was beginning to be swarmed with bullets, as my skills proved to be not adept enough to dodge every single bullet, as more and more of them hit into the hull of the Arwing, slowly whittling it and the systems inside into nothing.

 _And yet... as I continued to fire, there was no weakness to be found... How in the name of HELL did the Darkness even made its armour impenetrable in the first place!?_

Soon APITEX released yet another set of missiles, this time much larger than the one before, making me weave the field like it was a crazed aerial mine-field, causing me to loop, twist and nudge in every way I knew, before there was another explosion on the Arwing, shaking it.

But it wasn't a missile impacting on the Arwing, but the remaining set of thrusters on my Arwing giving out, under the death-dance it was forced to do, making it overload itself from the massive manoeuvre I pulled off.

"Richard Liu, your remaining set of thrusters has been destroyed by the massive overheat that has resulted from your manoeuvre." EVO stated the obvious to me.

"NO!" I cried out in anger. "Just a bit longer! Damnit...!"

I soon saw that APITEX was charging up a laser, or more clearly, the laser that would be my demise.

"Come on!" I exclaimed, as I began to jerk the controls like a maniac. "Just a bit more! Don't give in yet! We can't be done for! We have to fight!

APITEX is charging more and more energy into his laser.

"PLEASE! JUST A BIT MORE, AND WE COULD WIN!" I begged to the Arwing. "WE HAVE TO FIGHT! WE HAVE TO-"

Before I could say anything, the laser was fired, as my cockpit glass flashed white, before the light went through it, and into my vision, as everything faded to white...

...And I faded into sweet oblivion, regardless if it was death, or unconsciousness...

* * *

 _3rd Person View_

As APITEX fired its laser, Richard's Arwing was torn apart by the force of the laser, as most of the Arwing's parts were blasted to oblivion, leaving only a few parts, and the hull that managed to survive the assault.

APITEX soon began to scan the surroundings, and came to the conclusion that the enemy fighter was unmanned, as the pilot was vaporized by the blow, although the cockpit is intact.

As it was fused with the will of the queen, it only stayed there, wondering what it could do with its new body.

The Queen, or the infested APITEX, felt feelings of relief, something it has longed to have, as it was given a new chance at life, after being nearly wiped.

But then those feelings converted to dread, as the Queen contemplated a few things.

How can it reproduce its own race with this body?

Is there any Aparoids even existing anymore?

Would any Aparoids recognise their Queen, being so deformed in a new body?

Why did they have the feeling and desire to be 'perfect'?

Those were the questions that flowed through the Queen's head, but there was one question that the Queen was most suspicious about.

Who was that voice, that the black-haired human, the former pilot of the fighter that fought against its new body, reacted so violently to?

It began to think about who the human was, as it tried to scan the memories of those that it has assimilated into its hive-mind.

And the results were blank. Nothing in her hive-mind could tell it anything about this boy, who dared to defy it.

So the Queen concluded that this being was a 'anomaly' in this universe, and therefore was its key to study what 'perfection' truly is.

It only mentally felt sadness and disappointment, as it had destroyed its only clue to their true origins.

But the Queen wasn't omniscient, nor did she understand the truth about this incident.

There was another witness to the incident.

One who has traversed so many realities and universes.

* * *

 _?_

 _Richard's POV_

After a long time drifting in whatever place I am, I found that my consciousness has returned to me, although I have stirred awake yet.

With whatever sense of touch that remains with me, I could tell that I was laying on some solid ground.

But the question is...

Where am I?

I then began to recall what happened in my past period of consciousness.

I remember fighting a hopeless battle against a Aparoid-infested APITEX, before my Arwing then gave up the fight, as it lost all mobility, and I was supposedly disintegrated by its huge laser.

Yet... I'm still alive and conscious... something that shouldn't be happening when I'm supposed to be dead.

To be honest, when I felt death when I fought Volga in a fight to the death, and saved my younger self from being blasted a huge hole through the chest, I was taken by the same state of conscious that I would have during deep sleep. Pure darkness, with none of my senses working.

However, those were different. I was near-death at the time I managed to drag my sorry state to a medical tent, and saved by the potion that I brought, and I was revived by the Chaos Emerald, which gave me the Super Form I now have.

Speaking of Super Form... How the fucking hell did I even managed to summon the Daybreaker from Kid Icarus Uprising!?

But that question has no relation to whatever situation I am in now.

The only conclusions that I could draw from this, is that either I have been saved, or I have managed to land into some sort of netherworld or underworld.

Or maybe... I am only existing in spiritual form, and this place if some sort of spiritual prison, summoned by whoever managed to grab my spirit and drag it in.

Whatever reason it is... I don't even have a clue of what's going to happen.

I soon got up, as I let out a slow moan, before I looked around, only to be greeted by a grey landscape, devoid of any colour or object.

Only just greyness, that spread throughout the entirety of my vision, yet in this place...

I felt a sense of calmness and mental clarity, as if this place was blessed by the gods themselves, to be a sanctuary of mind and body. Just like what a Buddhist temple would create.

I was never a stickler for religions, but I did believe in the many religions, in their ideals, their gods, their differences, and their perspective of the unknown.

Before I could begin to take a single step to move forward, and begin to explore this unknown place, I felt some sort of inner feeling in my body, a feeling that told me to wait and stop with patience.

I followed my own instinct, and soon watched as the landscape began to ripple around me softly, as if the floor underneath me was a ocean of grey water, before the ripples then began to intensify to the point where the ripples turned into waves driving away from me, before there was a sudden stop, as the last of the waves began to dissipate.

At this mesmerising display, I could only feel like that I was enveloped by some sort of enigmatic force or feeling, as it felt like that I was feeling the world around me, but at the same time, unable to feel a single thing in my body. It was exactly the opposite of how my feeling of touch should be like, as if my own sixth sense inverted that feeling upon itself.

There was only a slow beating of feathered wings towards the front, as there was a small shadow gathering on the skies above, before the image began to grow larger and larger, as it became more and more clear to my vision.

What greeted my sight, when I finally recognised the approaching being, was a sense of pure surprise, bliss, joy and awe all rolled into one.

For what came to me, was the very Phoenix, the bird-like embodiment of immortality and mental clarity, herself.

She flew, with her majestic and large golden wings beating in a sound so quiet and soft that it was like the sound of angels descending from the heavens themselves, and her own golden coat of shining feathers that could be considered a field of stars in the night sky, with her own head bearing the red comb of a rooster, with her bright and energetic eyes giving me a expression of not just of peace, but also of understanding and interest. Her own tail was so similar to that of a peacocks, except her feathers glistened with a colour of rainbow, as they shone in the light like miniature prisms.

If the very person who created her, Osamu Tezuka himself, was to be still alive, I would have blessed his life for portraying the Phoenix in such a beauteous and royal form.

As she came closer and closer, I could feel the wind from her beating wings pushing onto me, like a gust, but the gust didn't feel strong, nor weak, but like a fresh wind brushing every inch of my body, as she landed in front of me.

She then looked at me for a moment, before bowing her head down to take a closer look, yet she still remained silent.

"You... You're... the Phoenix?" I spoke in a quiet yet confused tone, as I tried to comprehend every single possibility of why a being like her would be before me.

The Phoenix only closed her eyes, before speaking in a mature and godly female voice, " **Indeed. I am the Phoenix, traveller of the many realities and universes.** "

I could only let out a sputter, before I then fell on my knees, before I only chuckled quietly, before it became loud enough for her to hear me.

" **What is it that humours you so, young one?** " The Phoenix asked in a polite and inquisitive tone.

"O, majestic Phoenix..." I breathed out softly. "I am laughing in joy, and also of sorrow, but I have met you, a being that is so enigmatic and majestic, which is why I am joyful, yet I have done nothing of worth to deserve to be in your presence, as a mere human boy with powers that he does not fully understand."

I soon bow my head down to the ground in pure reverence, before the very bird goddess that stood before me.

" **There is no need to bow before me. You may be a human, but you are not simply a young boy. You should not lower your own values before divine beings like me, when they are happy to take you as you are.** " The Phoenix replied.

I slowly pulled my head up, before only frowning.

"But why... Why must I not show humility before you?" I asked, my confusion growing after hearing that. "You are a being who has transcended through the concepts of space and time, and the all-knowing goddess of immorality, yet I am only just a boy doing a simple commitment to the multiverse. So it would be a insult to be prideful and arrogant before you."

She only chuckles lightly, before placing her wings around me.

" **So you are truly a honoured and satisfied boy, who knows how to respect others.** " She answered. " **Because you have the same responsibilities as I, and you have not for even a single moment, ever questioned or doubted your moral values. That is why you do not have to revere me like a goddess. I only seek to be called a elder, not to be called a queen, nor a divine being.** "

I only feel a pinge of sadness, before I bowed my head down to look at the floor.

" **Do not be sad. You truly show a caring heart, something that I consider a gift among humans. You would sacrifice all that is yours to save lives that are not of relation to you, no matter what kind of life it would be, whether it would be evil or good.** " She comforted me. " **I have travelled to many universes, and there are only few who share the same type of altruism as you.** "

After hearing those words, my feelings have recovered, as with confidence, I looked up to the Phoenix, who does the same to me.

"But... I am no longer able to return to the world of the living. As much as I desire second chances... I exhausted them when I was revived by ungodly means." I sighed. "What can I do, O Phoenix? I entrusted my role to Gus, one of my closest friends, but I worry that he would have had the same fate as I."

" **No. You are mistaken there, young one. Your friend lives. Behold and gaze upon your actions.** " The Phoenix denied.

She then summoned a magical port, which grew to show a glimpse of the world of the living, where I formerly was.

I watched as Peppy piloted his own Arwing, just seconds after the Arwings of Gus and Antonio exploded, as he brought it before Gus and Antonio, who had masks connected to oxygen tanks, allowing them to breath for a long period of time in the atmosphere, as the two of them grabbed onto the wings of the Arwing, and headed back to the Great Fox, as they took off the masks, and smiled at each other, being alive and well.

I too smiled, as a sense of relief went through my body, before I unknowingly let out a few tears.

"Gus... Antonio... You're still alive..." I muttered.

The Phoenix then removes the magical port, as she then looks at me.

" **The truth is that because you believed in them so much, your friends have steeled their own resolve to stay alive, and therefore managed to find their own way to escape the danger of death.** " The Phoenix complimented me. " **That is why you are worthy of being before me, because you would trust your men as much as you would trust yourself.** "

"I know... But APITEX is still alive... I don't know what it could do." I said in a solemn tone. "I failed to bring that abomination down, and now it could run amok and wipe out the very lives I saved with my own hands."

" **Indeed. But you should understand what my purpose here is, young one."** The Phoenix replied. " **After all, you know about me, and about the many people that I have influenced.** "

Wait... Did she just say... what I thought she said?

She knows... that I know about her!?

The Phoenix only puts up one of her talons, before she softly pecked a hole through the hard skin on the top of it, as it leaked out a few drops of her divine blood, the very ingredient and essence of immorality itself.

"You... You would... give me your blood!?" I let out a cry of surprise.

" **You don't deserve death. You deserve to be given immorality, so that you can complete your duties without any fear of leaving those you love.** " The Phoenix answered.

"But... But... BUT!" I stuttered n my words, trying to find a way to politely reject her offer, yet I could find none.

She only remains silent, as the blood still remains on the top of her talon.

"You don't understand, Phoenix... As much as I wish to return... Your immortality..."

" **...only saves you from death?** " The Phoenix finished my thoughts, to my awe. " **I know that you are afraid of age, since your duty is as eternal as time itself. That is why that you will get a different type of immortality, not the one I gave to the one from the other universe."**

"A... different kind of immortality?" I asked, not understanding what she means.

" **You would be able to change your own body age at will, and your soul and spirit will be eternal, but because of this, you would still suffer from the throes and consequences of death, before you can resurrect yourself.** " The Phoenix explained to me. " **That is the immortality that you would desire, and the one that you must have for your duty, as a chosen one under the Creator.** "

"You know the Creator!?" I exclaimed.

" **I have known her ever since this multiverse was created. She and I bear the same potentials and ideals, and so we were considered to be allies and fellow goddesses. I knew that one day, she would be unable to fight against the Darkness that hounds the multiverse so, but I am unable to fight anyone, being a being of pacifism and peace. However, you can use my immortality to great uses, to protect the dear life that thrives in this reality. And you will also bear the sin of being inhuman completely, but there is as much problems to being human as there is to being inhuman.** "

I could only gape at what I heard. The Phoenix already decided to gift me something from the very beginning of time itself.

"But why only me, Phoenix? Why?" I asked, still not fully understanding the situation.

" **Because you understand the story of Akanemaru and Gaou to its purest morals. You learnt from that story as if it was your way of life, and used it as a reminder to never seek something too much. You understood how Gaou was able to portray my true form so easily, while Akanemaru had only done a flawed imagery of me, and how they became the people they were. You understand how the meaning of karma spreads through every universe, and how it was shown to be a unbreakable and unchangeable universal law. That is why you are enlightened of the universal laws enough to be a Multiversal Saviour, just like how some other beings like you did."** The Phoenix replied to my question. " **With this kind of philosophy, you deserve to be given a life that is unburdened by age and death, even though you must suffer through disease and injury like any other human would."**

There was no denying it... I was blessed by the gods of the multiverses, and I had my duty to complete.

With a smile, I only pulled up her talon, which budged with minimal force, and lapped the blood softly off her talon, leaving it as clean as it was, as the wound has disappeared.

" **And so... I entrust the future of the multiverse to you, Richard Zhao Liu. Remember that you must not lose your way among the many paths of life, stay true to your born beliefs and values, and to earn the true state of enlightenment, where you can become a god-like protector of existence."** The Phoenix spoke in a majestic and royal tone.

I soon could only bow my head down repeatedly, as if I have committed a grave sin to her.

"Thank you... Thank you so much! I'll never forget this, and I will never go against your words!" I cried out, as tears began to leak out of my eyes, as I felt sorrow for how I could let her down. "I swear on my own existence that I will do my duty as Multiversal Saviour, to the very best of my abilities, and never ever do anything to being sorrow and hatred among the many parts of existence!"

The Phoenix only smiled at me, before she then turned around.

" **Then I part you with a final gift. A gift that you will receive when you wake up next in the world of the living."** The Phoenix said. " **Farewell, young Multiversal Saviours. May you stay as human as you are, even at times when your life is so dark that you cannot leave it, because you have a soul of a undying and unbreakable hero, that you will use to the best of your potential.** "

The Phoenix soon flies into the skies again, before she then disappears from my vision, as soon as a large rainbow-like sun began to rise on the horizon of the gray plane, as the light became more and more brighter, as I was blinded by it, and I lost all feeling in my body.

* * *

 _Aparoid Homeworld_

 _3rd Person View._

The Aparoid Queen still remained in front of the wreckage of her former enemy, the parts now floating the space of the lair, as it began to wonder about its new purpose, as it felt so empty, after it was defeated once, and even killing the person responsible for that.

The being felt remorse, as it felt like that there was no purpose for its existence, since there are no more of her race, and she was a entirely different being. No more was she the Aparoid Queen, but a hive-mind that is jacking a super-weapon.

It began to contemplate flying out of the lair, and firing vengeance upon the ones who have driven its race to extinction, only to realise that it would serve her no purpose. There would be no more of the Aparoids, and nothing could change that event. It felt hopeless and alone, once again, back when it was first created.

It soon decided that it would just wait for the planet to collapse on itself, and give the mind a sweet release of death, as it felt like there was no other way to make things better for its conscience, since it felt like that it was truly nothing more than a tool, instead of a proud queen.

However, the Queen felt a unknown presence, a presence that was so powerful that it threatened to make it submit to whatever was emitting the presence.

As it looked for the source, it was greeted by a miraculous sight, as the parts of the Arwings began to shake, and charge with some magical energy, before they then snapped back on each other, back to where they were.

As the last pieces of the machine has returned, it was soon enveloped in a orb of searing red fire, which shocked the Queen, as its logic determined that the craft could be activating a last resort, presumably a self-destruct system to blow the Queen with the craft, frightening it.

However, the orb of fire soon disappears, to reveal that the fighter has taken onto a new form, a form much different to the fighter it just fought.

The fighter was now dyed crimson with the decals of orange flames marked all over the hull, as if they were tribal markings on a being, and the wings were now much more larger, as they spread out to their full length, revealing the arsenal of weaponry loaded on the wings of the craft, the thrusters have disappeared, only to be shown to have merged into two large boosters close to the tail of the craft, that are roaring with the force of a carrier, and the head of the craft now sports two chain-bolt guns, and two energy rods that are tucked just under the cockpit of the craft.

But what surprised the Queen the most, was the aura that it emitted. It emitted a aura of strength and dominance, as if it was daring the Queen to defy it and die. The Queen responded to this, by realising that its battle was far from done, and that whatever the mysterious presence was, it was a miracle that was sent to it, in order to fulfil its wish of death.

The fighter remained still, as if it was not activated, which managed to give the Queen some relief

However, the Queen also feared the still-existing presence, as much as it has respected the being who had it, as if it was going kill it mercilessly.

So it chose to fight the mysterious craft, in order to both earn its desire, and desensitise itself to the fear it continuously feels, as it slowly approached the craft.

* * *

 _Richard's POV_

As the rainbow light faded, I was back in the same cockpit chair that I was sitting in, with my arms still shielding my eyes from the ultra-bright orb of light.

There was no response from EVO, but I could tell that by looking all around, I was in my Arwing, no mistaking it.

However, there were so many changes, as I could see. My cockpit controls were still the same, except there were a few new red plastic switch buttons placed in a line, on the right side of the controls, ranging from A to C, respectively left to right, where the A button was currently lit with the light under it, possibly indicating it is activated, although I didn't understand the purpose of the new buttons yet.

As I looked around the cockpit, the interior still hasn't changed, although I took a look at my hull, as I saw it was painted in a crimson colour, with decals of spreading flames all over the wings and hull. Somehow, that colour scheme seemed similar, if I took those flame decals off...

When I checked my HUD, I could see a wire-frame version of the Arwing that I'm piloting, showing the condition of the Arwing, I could see how much the Arwing has changed. The wings of the craft were much larger than what they were before, and there were now twin chain-guns fitted on the head of the craft, as forward weaponry, and my wings contained many different armaments, which were shown by labels, to contain the homing-laser cannons from Antonio's craft, my own rapid-laser cannons, and Zelda's long and ranged laser arrow bolts, where my wing was currently equipped with the rapid-laser cannons, and there was also two large energy rods that were located underneath the cockpit, and they were buzzing with energy, according to the display, and there was also a set of familiar golden wings attached to the back of the Arwing, glowing with a godly energy.

As I began to look between the new switches and the new weapons, I soon realised that my Arwing was upgraded into some sort of super-fighter, with multiple weapons. I then began to experiment with the switches, as the wings switched the weapons without a single second of delay.

I then began to inspect more of my new HUD, as there was now a vertical bar gauge that was filling itself up, before going down, as I soon watched the HUD activate a cartoonish-like tutorial, about the new feature, which showed that the weapons auto-charged themselves, and that the charged version of the rapid-laser cannons would unleash a massive beam of pure power at whatever was unlucky to be in its way, the charged version of the homing-laser cannon would create a swarm of bladed-wave projectiles like Impa's, which would lock onto all enemies in the vicinity of my craft, and the charged version of the laser arrow bolts, would create a short shockwave burst that would persist for a few seconds, destroying most projectiles that would touch it.

There was also the fact that I now had a reflective barrier, which would reflect every non-explosive projectile back to its owner, as the tutorial showed thousands and thousands of Aparoids firing onto my new craft, with its reflective barrier activated, and the lasers all bounced harmlessly off the barrier, and into the Aparoids like a rain of light.

I began to smile, as I both appreciated the humour in the cartoon, with the Aparoids being very cartoon-like and blown to smithereens by my new craft in the tutorial, and I realised that my craft worked like Luca's own Ex-Tio from Ether Vapor, the very nemesis of APITEX, with the over-powered shield that belonged to the Phoenix Mark II of the game RefleX by Siter Skain.

I could either choose to fire my secondary weapons in my wings rapidly, or I could let it charge to create a more powerful shot, and my barrier can be held up for some time, before I have to let it cool down.

However, there was also one thing that caught my eye. There was also lines of the word 'OVERDRIVE' moving left and right of the screen from the top-most and bottom-most parts, with yellow caution bars between the words.

I began to laugh with glee, as I realised that my craft was now in Overdrive mode, because not only my weapons has been powered-up to the point that APITEX's shields aren't going to do jack to defend itself from the onslaught that I was going to give it, but my barrier was active as long as I hold it!

So its a combination of Overdrive Mode from Ex-Tio, and the Ophiuchus Awakened form from the Phoenix Mark II, and that exactly makes me more powerful than I even need to fight APITEX.

And that means that... it's time for a role reversal in Round 2!

However, I have something to do, before I can prepare to battle APITEX right on its own terms.

"EVO? Are you still here? You alright?" I asked.

There was no response, before I could hear her voice. "I am perfectly fine, Richard. However, I worry about your condition, and the condition of the craft. 15 minutes and 20 seconds ago, the ship was vaporised by the laser from the unknown machine, and I ceased to exist then. However, somehow I was rebooted, and the craft has received many changes. I believe that you understand what these changes are, however, when I tried to locate you, you were not there. Only when you asked for me, that I was able to locate your life signature and speak to you."

"Thank you, EVO. But what only my first name now?" I asked. "It seems like that you have changed a bit..."

"Correct. When the craft was remade, I was also remade and upgraded as a result. I began to gain personality and human understanding. If I was evaluate my own ability to be human, I would be 25% human, compared to 15% previously. I learnt the concept of friendship and human emotion related to it, and decided that it would be best to call you by your first name, a tradition that would help create a bond between you." EVO explained to me.

"I see. Are you aware of the condition the craft is in?" I questioned her again.

"I have already scanned over the form the craft is currently. The craft's power output has risen exponentially than before, to heights that would be impossible even with this efficient reformation of the craft, all directed to your weaponry and new shielding. This form is only temporary, as I analysed and concluded, and you would find the normal conditions of the new craft then."

"So you mean that this is some sort of 'overdrive', right?"

"Indeed. And I have also discovered that the ship now contains orbital drones that provide support fire."

"Orbitals?" I asked, before EVO showed a picture of the orbitals, that are either side of my craft, and are shaped like a crimson version of Ex-Tio's own. "I see."

"Considering your current fire-power, you should be able to enter combat with the unknown being without any risk of failure, considering your skills."

"Don't worry, EVO. This battle is as good as won!" I encouraged her.

 _Current Music: Phoenix Sword (CROW'S CLAW)_

I soon reactivate my thrusters, as I run head-on into the battle, with a all-new strategy, and a renewed resolve to win the fight.

As APITEX fired on me, I could watch as most of the shots that were aimed at me were reflected back at APITEX, dealing damage, as shown by the decreasing bar on my HUD, before I then fired my secondary weapon, before it let out a raging beam of red energy that collided with the huge machine, and crack through its hull rapidly, dealing massive damage to it.

"It's working, EVO! APITEX is taking lots of damage!" I cried out with joy. "We can defeat that monstrosity now!"

I continued my assault on the enemy, making sure to trigger the reflect barrier whenever I needed, and staying clear from any beams that APITEX might fire, since the reflective barrier cannot deflect them, and firing off my rapid laser cannons, which are fired from the orbitals as red beams, due to being in overdrive mode, while often switching over to the other weapons, as the homing-laser cannon fired off homing laser-bolts almost at the rate of a chain-gun, and the arrows were much more powerful, firing in twins at a straight line, exploding whenever they contacted with the armour of the enemy.

It didn't take long for the machine to fall, due to the continued assault on the machine, as pieces of the armour began to fall off with each attack I made, with my primary weapon and secondary weapons combined, before it exploded.

However, the battle was far from over. APITEX wasn't a one trick pony, and it certainly had a new form. If the original APITEX is here, then its evolution, APITEX EVO would come.

And it did, the blast of energy soon morphed in the shape of the new machine, now bearing a new form, with two mechanical hands, and white mist-like wings formed on its back. It soon commenced its attack, with a new arsenal, as its hand began to open, with cannons being formed from the tips of the fingers, creating streams of bullets that attempt to limit my movement, and fire off sets of orbs that would burst into triple-burst of laser-bolts aimed where I was.

With each moment that I fought, APITEX EVO's arsenal was revealed one by one. After it has used its first set of weapons, it switched up by shifting its left hand to leave only the second and third fingers out, as they merged together to form a particle cannon that was firing purple energy bullets wildly without any pattern, and its right hand tilted sideways to reveal a energy generator, and fire off rings of large orbs that attempt to collide and disintegrate with me. As the right hand fired off its weapon, the left hand shifted to a position where the pinky finger was lifted, as the top of it opened to reveal a laser cannon, that was continuously firing purple energy bolts that hone on my fighter for a while, before losing their homing capabilities.

Most of the attacks could easily be avoided or deflected, but trying to avoid the orbs while keeping a eye out on the bullets was not a easy task, as I began to take damage from either of them, because the orbs would penetrate my barrier, or the bullets would catch me off, as the wire-frame condition would turn slightly darker towards a yellowish hue, indicating damage, and reminding me that this craft is not enough to win me this battle, and that I'm not invincible yet.

It soon then shifted both hands to having only their second and third fingers out, before touching them together to form a larger energy generator from the merged fingers, as they fired orbs at random columns at me, all with the body firing energy bolts at me. I managed to swerve out of the orbs' paths, and reflect any energy bolt that would touch me back to APITEX EVO, to deal more damage, and fired on any of the weapons that would spring out of the machine.

Before long, as signs of damage began to appear on it, with all the weapons that it brought out to this moment destroyed and fuming smoke, and its main body sparking electricity, before it then let out a roar, as the cannons on the fingertip were replaced by beam cannons, before it then detached each of its fingers, and merged with the body, before the combination of the cannons began to gather energy.

This would be its last attack, and the most deadly, if I don't counter it. Although I never encountered this attack from this machine, I know that it takes a beam to fight a beam, no matter what.

I immediately switched my secondary weapon to my rapid-beam cannons, before letting it charge to full power, before I then fired it, just as soon as APITEX EVO fired its own beam, as they collided with each other, trying to push against each other. However, APITEX EVO's beam was much more powerfu than my own, as it slowly pushed the beam.

As it cam closer, my feelings of dread and fear returned, as I feared that I would die again. As much as I tried to calm down, I was shaking from the sight, and was feeling the cold metal of Death's scythe on my own neck, like it was close enough to take me.

But I managed to stay hopeful and strong. I realised that if APITEX EVO has made a gambit, then there is a way that I can raise that gambit.

"EVO! Reroute all power to weaponry, now!" I ordered EVO immediately, with urgency visible in my voice. "If we don't power up now, we'll be destroyed!"

"Richard, you need to reconsider. If we gather all that power in the beam, there will be no guarantee that the result might be able to be positive. Even if you destroy the machine, you'll be out of power to manoeuvre, and the life support systems will be nonfunctional. You'll be threatening your own life!" EVO warned me.

"It's a gamble, EVO. A gamble that I have to win. I'll take my chance with engine failure any day, because I rather take that machine with me, than die disintergrated!" I assured her.

"Then it is done, Richard." EVO said, as the systems slowly powered down.

"EAT THIS, YOU PIECE OF SCRAP!" I let out a cry, to raise my own spirits up about this.

However, with the powering down of the systems, the beam that I was firing was growing in size and power, as it began to push against the opposing beam, before completely overpowering it, and consuming APITEX EVO, which let out a deathly screech, before it was disintegrated by the attack.

I soon remained silent and still, as I processed what happened.

 _End Music_

"I... won?" I blurted out. "I won... against APITEX EVO?"

Another moment of silence fell upon me, before I only chuckled at the situation, as the planet began to crumble around me.

"Well, I guess that there's no way that I can get out of here. I doubt that the Phoenix's immortality is going to help me now." I solemnly said to myself. "I guess I'm a idiot... I'm sorry, Gus, Link, Zelda, Impa, Antonio... I won't be coming back to lead you guys..."

I only placed the hands of the control, waiting for my fate to come.

"How ironic... I just came to be complimented by the Phoenix for my deeds, and I fail her by dying again... Ha ha ha..." I spoke in a self-belittling tone. "I really am just a human in the end, right?"

"No. You're not." EVO spoke, which surprised me, as I fall backwards on my seat.

"EVO!? You're still active!? But I thought all the power in the system has been transferred to that beam as a last resort!" I stuttered out.

"Not quite, Richard. It wasn't easy to manipulate all of the power from the Overdrive into that laser, so there was some reserve power that remained. That beam was truly empowered by a lot of power, that is confirmed, but not all of the fighter's power was used up." EVO explained to me.

Of course... If you're in some super form, there is no way that you lose that power so suddenly, even if you wanted to get rid of it. I should have realised that there was still power in my Overdrive form.

"Then... is it possible to reroute the remaining power to the sub-systems and thrusters?" I asked.

"There is no need. The power is already spreading across the systems, keeping them at optimal power." EVO replied.

I only smile at this, before I grip the controls of my Arwing again.

"Alright, then it's time we leave this place. We have no more business there." I said.

I soon activate my thrusters and exit the chamber at full speed, as the area behind me begins to explode, as the planet is now finally at its final stage of self-destruction.

I only pray for my safety, as I ease my fighter forward to gain speed, before I shoot through the opening of the queen's lair and soon enough, into outer space, where the planet began to tear itself apart before exploding in a super-nova.

Before I could scan around the area, the thrusters soon powered down by themselves.

"I have confirmed that the Overdrive form has expired, Richard. Due to the energies we used, the fighter remains in power, but with so little power, the thrusters and weaponry have been powered down, in order to conserve what remains." EVO said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, EVO. You know, you've been a good partner." I said with a smile. "Sure, you and I have had so little time to bond, but I feel like that you and I are going to be great partner. You'll be my adviser and assistant, and I'll be your perfect pilot. It's a match made from the fates of the multiverse itself, eh? If not, who cares? Just because you're a emotionless AI, doesn't mean that I can't marry or be engaged with you."

"I... do not understand your meaning, Richard." EVO replied.

"Ahahaha..." I laughed heartily. "It's a joke. I was just being metaphorical when I said I could marry or be engaged with you. But still, you're really one of my best allies here, excluding Vai of course. Speaking of which, she's been silent so far..."

"Oh, you mean the lifeform that is in your pocket, Richard?" EVO answered me. "I already analysed it, and determined that it was a female from close observation."

"Meh... That fact was so obvious... But what do we do now, my dear EVO?" I asked.

"I already have sent a emergency signal to all remaining fleet-ships, including the Great Fox." EVO said. "The probability of this succeeding-"

"-Is quite high, right?" I interrupted her quickly.

"Yes, although I do not appreciate being interrupted, Richard." EVO replied to me.

"Heh. I can already see lights already." I said, looking out of the cockpit, seeing a large beam of light.

"Richard, I advise that you hang on. Even though the life support system is waning, you're not in a condition of delirium-"

"No, EVO, there really are lights! Scan around you!" I said again, trying to get EVO to understand me.

EVO only remains silent for a while, before she replied.

"I see. The Great Fox is approaching us, and proceeded to extract us." She said.

"Heh. So, it's really over then, no more Aparoids, and the Darkness no longer control the fate of this universe?" I replied.

"Yes, the Aparoids are gone, but I do not understand what you mean by the 'Darkness' though." EVO confirmed.

"Then I guess it's time that I give Fox a good apology, and explain all this to him." I said.

The Great Fox soon appears in my view, as the hangar opens to reveal two mechanical arms that slowly take my craft and bring it into the Great Fox.

 _I wonder how Star Fox will react to my return..._

* * *

 _In the Great Fox's bridge_

I soon enter the bridge, where my teammates and all members of Star Fox were standing around, looking out of the cockpit, as if looking for something.

 _I guess they're worried about me, but I'm back, at least._

"Yo." I said casually, gaining their attention, as they all turn around surprised.

Before I could react, Antonio rushed up to me, and hugged me tightly, as Gus and the others only ran up to me.

"RICHARD!" Antonio cried out with joy evident in his voice. "You're back and alive! I thought you died with that planet there!"

I remained stunned by the hug for a while, before I calmed down, and only returned the hug back.

"What do you expect, my friend? I may be weak, but I have the will to live on like a true man." I replied, as I patted his back.

I look at Gus next, before saying, "By the way, how did you guys manage to return? I thought your Arwings were destroyed, and you were both dying there."

"It was Flash who saved us. He managed to notice the commotion, and brought us both back to the Great Fox, while you all were fighting whatever was down there." Gus said, before looking at me with curiosity. "Speaking of which, how did YOU come back? I thought Link and Zelda were desperate about how you were pinned down by some mysterious enemy. They said that it took out the thrusters on your Arwing."

"I..." I said, as I looked away from him. "I'm not sure myself... All I knew is that I fought the machine, and I won against it, before I escaped to be found by you guys."

Link and Zelda only smile warmly at this, knowing that I have survived this ordeal. Impa, however, was looking carefully at something on me, before then walking up to me, and pointing at the top of my right hand.

"What is that, Richard? I never saw this on you, until you came back just now." Impa questioned me.

I then raise my right hand up, and see that on the back of my hand, there was a glowing red ink-like symbol of the Phoenix on my hand, with falling feathers below her. It was a beautiful insignia if I could say so myself.

 _So, it wasn't a dream. But... is the immortality truly real? Or was the Phoenix saying all that, so that she can raise my spirits? I doubt the Phoenix would lie, but I'm too afraid of death, to test that theory out..._

"It's... It's just a simple tattoo that was hidden for a while." I softly lied.

As I collected my thoughts, Falco walked up to me, and slammed a right hook into my face painfully, sending me backwards onto a wall, as the rest of Star Fox came up.

"That's for hacking our Arwings, mate." Falco replied, frowning.

"You're... you're not angry that I forced you to leave?" I asked.

"Of course not, but why did you force us out like that?" Fox said. "Was whatever you were fighting something that made you fear for our safety? And you guys seem so suspicious with that purple-haired copy of yours. What are you guys, and what's going on?"

I only sighed deeply at this.

"I guess I should explain why I fear this thing so much before." I admitted. "But promise me that you will believe me without any doubt, alright?"

"I'll be the judge of that." Fox replied.

I only nodded, before I then proceeded to explain everything to him, from how I fought a inter-dimensional threat, called the Darkness, their objectives, and who I found out they were responsible for the whole Aparoid War, and how I managed to recruit my teammates, and the reason that I was helping them was to preserve the peace and integrity of every universe, and to recruit allies for the battle against the Darkness. I then told them how I understood the history of the Lylat System, omitting and altering several details, saying how I learnt their history through observation, and hiding the fact that I was just a simple human.

"No way..." Krystal said, filled with awe.

"So you guys... were from another universe entirely!?" Falco exclaimed. "No wonder, you were so weird and strange to me."

"It's the honest truth. I protected the Great Fox, because I knew that I can, and that you trusted me well, after all the time we fought together. It may have been short, but I knew that you trusted us like we were allies with the same cause." I replied to both of them.

"But... are you trying to attempt to persuade us to join you? As much as I want to protect everyone, we cannot leave the Lylat System on their own." Fox asked.

"I understand the problem. But I only seek to ally with you, Fox Mccloud. As much as I like to bring the other teammates, I feel that you would be my best choice."

"And why is that?" Fox asked me. "Why only me alone?"

"It's... complicated, Fox. I wanted to bring Krystal with you first, because of the bonds between the two of you, and her useful psychic powers, but those psychic powers would be her weakness, if she were to suffer from mental destruction or trauma. She's far more sensitive to mental attacks, and that would cause her a lot of unnecessary pain. Falco and Slippy are good choices, but I cannot take either of them, because I know that Falco will not grow to respect me as a equal ally, and he ends up getting himself into problems with his arrogance, and Slippy would be so easily replaced among the many mechanics and engineers of the other worlds. You however, Fox, possess a unique trait. You have an unwavering spirit like me, and you are a hardened soldier with skills that cannot be easily matched to another, and whose emotions are in complement of each other, since you would never been naive to your positive emotions, nor sink in to your negative emotions, and you would be a perfect team with many of the other warriors in the other worlds, making you a perfect ally in my cause." I explained. "And if you're worried about the other people, the Creator, the one that is assisting in my cause, can help create a perfect copy of you, perfect in the sense of appearance, mannerisms, personality and identity. I used this with Link, Zelda and Impa, and their doubles fitted well in the world, having the same ideals as their originals, and the ones with me never complained, and the continuity of the world is still intact."

"And what's 'continuity'?" Fox asked me again.

"'Continuity'... It's a difficult term to describe, Fox." I said solemnly. "It's basically fate in a sense. For example, the Lylat Wars was a part of your world's continuity, so you could say continuity is history itself. That was why I never spoke to you too much during those missions. Because I couldn't risk ruining the continuity of your world, that is so fragile. If it were to shatter... there are many results that would make this system a living hell, honestly."

"So you're saying you're preserving history of past and future, from unknown intruders, right?" Fox replied.

"Indeed. That's one way to put my duty and mission. Another way to say, is that it's a patrol of heroes at a multi-versal scale." I said without any hesitation. "But it's not a job I can do with so few allies. That is why I need your help. If you refuse, I will push this topic further, and leave this universe, but I assure you, that being with us in no different than being in your own universe. You'll become more sharp and experienced in my organisation, and you'll find people that'll suit as your friend and allies, and there's nothing stopping you from visiting your home universe, as long as you protect it well."

Fox only remains silent for a while, as the other teammates look at him, with Falco looking at him with distrust, Krystal looking at him with worry, and Slippy looking at him with curiosity, as Fox adapts a thinking pose, before finally answering me.

"I see that you're serious about this, Richard." Fox replied to me with a neutral tone. "I will join you on your mission, Richard, on one condition."

Fox emphasised the last word deeply, making me realise that Fox is more serious than I am now about this.

"Then what is the condition, Fox? I will do anything within my power, in present or future, to help you achieve it." I asked politely.

"My condition is that... you promise that no matter what happens, if I wish to quit your team, and return to my universe, you will not interfere." Fox replied.

"And why is that, Fox? Not that I would refuse you." I questioned him.

"Because, to be honest, I do not fully trust you, and there is a possibility that you may be lying about everything that happened." Fox explained his answer, before glaring deeply into my eyes with cold rage. "If you were, and you were responsible for all of this, then I will hunt you down to the corners of the system and universes, and make sure that you remain alone and sad in a impenetrable prison for as long as you will live. That is not a threat, but a promise that I will not back down from, and nothing you throw at me will stop me from getting revenge."

Despite Fox's glare, I only smile at him.

"I never intended to lie, Fox. If that is your condition, and your true thoughts, then I wholeheartedly accept your opinion of me." I replied to him. "To be honest, I've had trust issues of my own recently, but I learnt that the only way I can overcome it, is if I knew more about my allies."

Fox only nods at this, before reaching out a hand, which I shook slowly.

"Then it is a deal, I'll come with you, if you really keep your word." Fox said.

"Same to you." I responded back.

Soon, the Great Fox reaches the Orbital Gate, as we prepare to dock off.

* * *

 _Orbital Gate Hangar_

"So you're leaving, Flash Dove?"

That is what I said, as I met him in the hangar, with his crew out to see us.

"Yes. Beltino has already helped us detect a rift back to our dimension, and has already linked the gate to the rift." Flash said. "We're about to dock onto our ship, and leave."

"Can't I at least say goodbye to you?" I asked. "I'm not sure if we'll ever meet again."

"Yeah... You're really nice, you know that?" Flash replied. "Nicer than some other guys I've helped; and they were going to stab me in the back before I kicked their faces in."

"And you're the best hero I ever met." I responded back. "I always looked up to people like you, Flash, and now... I have become a hero like you. I may not be strong, I may not be smart, and I may not be skilled, but I have a kind heart to unite everyone to fight for a just cause, and an unbreakable spirit to save everyone that I can, with all of my might and power. As for the back-stabbing, trust me, it's a issue that I worry about, that never happens to me, but it mostly happens to you, when you least expected."

"I wouldn't call myself a hero…" Flash scratched the back of his head. I had a feeling he would respond that way.

"Maybe not, but then again, I'm not your text-book definition 'hero' either, Flash." I said. "I'll be cruel and biased, but at least I'll maintain a neutral perspective of everything."

I soon look at Mikan Tsumiki, who is fidgeting at the sight of me, before I approach her.

"Hey." I said simply, as Mikan only smiles shakily, her shy personality shown to everyone.

"H-Hi!" Mikan said. "I-It's sad that we won't meet each other again, right? I mean... You're really nice to me, just like Captain-san."

I only smile, as I pull her into a hug, as she let out a startled cry, before sinking into the hug, as I let go.

"Consider this my parting gift with you." I smirked. "By the way, I have something to tell you."

"W-What is it?" Mikan asked timidly.

"You're too cute and beautiful when you speak and look like that. I can't bear to leave you either." I replied with a slight chuckle.

Mikan only covers her blushing face with her hands, as she looks away. Flash gives me a look saying 'She's my head doctor, go find your own.', as I only lifted

I then approach Camilla and Colette, who were standing together, and they looked at me, as I lightly bowed to them with respect.

"I just wanted to thank you two for the help you given me back in that fight against Lingyue. If it wasn't for your help, Flash and I would have been defeated and even killed by him. That is why I am truly grateful for the help." I thanked them both.

"Now, now. There's no need to worry your head off, Richard dear." Camilla said. "You truly showed that you're a loyal ally to the end, and you respect Capa-bun greatly, so I believe that you would be a great friend of ours. Besides, if you two did die I'd track your killer to the ends of the universe to chop him up into itty bitty pieces. Marzia loves to eat people like that."

I only gulp audibly. Although I knew that Camilla has a tendency to say these things on a whim, it still send chills down my spines thinking about what she says. Gives me one more reason why I absolutely must respect Flash as a equal.

Not that I planned not to do that.

"Yeah, at least I managed to vent my frustrations on that purple-haired freak, and the Boss also vented his frustration." Colette replied to me. "He was really steamed when he was ambushed and defeated by him. Coward."

"And I'll be ready for him next time, since I'll be much more powerful and I'll have my friends to support me next time, no matter how strong he will be." I responded back. "Even if he tries to ambush me again, and weaken me, I'll still give him the beating he deserves, on all of our behalves."

"Meh. Suit yourself. I'm not the one who is going to be fighting him all the time. I only fought because I wanted to beat him up, and help the Bossman. A good crewmate always puts their captain first, and themselves second." Colette shrugged at me. "It's how I got to be his assistant."

"Yeah, that's what a good crewmate should be like." I said, before I then left to approach Sakura.

I then kneeled before her, surprising her a bit, as she gasps.

"I'm sorry for being unable to help you much before, back in that bandit hideout." I apologised to her. "If I was only stronger and faster, I would have been able to prevent you from getting hurt before. I feel ashamed that I lack to power to protect you, and deserve to apologise for this."

"You don't have to apologise to me! I'm not really that hurt by them, with Selena and Arthur protecting me, and it's not your fault it happened!" Sakura blurted out, trying to comfort me.

"I know it's not, but I deserve to least be responsible for protecting you. If not, then how will I be able to protect people like you in the future? I promised that next time, there will not be a person injured like this in my watch, ever." I replied to her.

I soon got up, before bowing my head to her, and then approaching Flash.

"I also have something to give you, Flash." I stated, as I pulled out of my pocket, a syringe filled with the same potion that saved me just before. "I believe that you deserve this for everything you have done for me, for saving Gus and Antonio, and for being my ally all this time in this bloody war. If I could give you more, I could, but this is the best thing I can give you, that you will find valuable in the future. It'll save you the trouble of saving the near-dying, as it often replenishes itself for some odd reason, and maybe Mikan can even use this thing to be the best helper in your crew!"

Flash only softly grabs the syringe, examining it, before smiling. He quickly stuffed it in one of his cloak's pockets.

"Well, thanks for the gift. I am happy that you would be willing to give something valuable to you, to me, a sky pirate." Flash thanked me.

"A sky pirate, you may be, but you're also a kind and just sky pirate hero." I replied to him with a smile, before I reached out my hand. "You know, I'm not sure that if we will ever meet again, but I assure you that should our paths cross again, know that Richard Zhao Liu, Multiversal Saviour, will have your back covered for you anytime you wish, and that you'll still remain my best ally. So let's shake on it, a promise that we'll meet again in the future, no matter what."

Flash only takes the hand gently, before shaking it and saying, "And you'll have me, Flash Dove, pirate of the great skies, to help you on your quest. Just say the word and who needs to be tormented. Once you do that...consider it done."

"Same here. You got any ass-hole messing around with your team, I'll kick his ass as a favour for you." I said with a wide grin. "That goes for anyone who dares to mess with either of our crews."

With that handshake, I could tell that there was a friendship forged between us. Not a strong one, I admit, but it was nonetheless a beginning of a good relationship, as allies to the the same cause.

Flash then turns around, and docks onto his ship with the crew, as I wave goodbye to him, with the rest of my teammates doing the same, before the Royal Champion leaves the hangar.

I soon dash across the hangar, and into the hallways of the station, to reach a window looking out towards the open gate of the orbital station, as it began to activate, with the Royal Champion approaching it.

Seeing this, I only saluted slowly and solemnly, as I wished for Flash's safety, and his success in living his life as an ambitious space pirate through the dimensions.

 _Farewell, Flash Dove._ I thought. _May we meet again in the future, where we can become the best of friends, if possible. I may not be able to keep you on my side for long, but know that you'll have us backing you up, no matter where you go._

I soon see that Gus, Antonio, Zelda, Link and Impa are also saluting to the ship, as if we were doing a military send-off, reminding me of how friendly we were to each other, and how we trusted each other, as I smiled at them, before we headed back to the hangar.

* * *

When we arrive back at the hangar, with the Great Fox, only the workers and citizens of the orbital gate are here, with Fox standing in front of the Great Fox, with a expression that indicated that he was waiting for us all this time.

"So... your friend has left?" Fox asked me. "To be honest, I hadn't been watching him much, during this entire war, but I sure am grateful for him, for protecting the other citizens back in Corneria. I saw him jump down, and take down Aparoids like they were harmless and weak against him. And I never had the time to thank him for killing Pigma, and ending his reign of terror."

"He has. I owe him a greater debt than you, since he was responsible for why I managed to survive." I replied. "If it wasn't for him, I would have been long dead under Lingyue's hand. Flash did a good job in minimising the damage done to everyone, back in Sauria, and he managed to engage him to the point where I could help them, and make him brag about his own plans, before disappearing away for some reason. Either way, it's my life that I owe him, so I gave him something to lessen the debt next time we fight."

"You sound like that you regard him as if he was a hero." Fox stated.

"I do. To tell you with all honesty, Fox, I didn't believe that you would trust me so easily." I answered back, with a long sigh. "Flash Dove is much more than just a hero. He's a literal beacon of hope and a shining example for his own crew, and his allies, and a valuable member of a alliance that exists in a mulitverse far away from ours. There are even more heroes, like Vaati Star, now Minerva, Alex Vaughn, and Ragna . They have something to make them unique as they are, whether it is that their past turns into their spur for heroism, or their heart towards their loved ones turns them into a hero. I, however, have nothing special. All I did was practice my own skills, and do whatever is asked of me, whether it is to protect someone, or complete a goal, and I was born from a simple request of help. In textbook definitions, I'm a mundane hero, Fox, but I want to become a hero that'll save the multiverse. I will gather heroes like you, and train myself with anyone I meet, to learn the best abilities that can be taught, and use them to prove that I'm not a hero, but a star like the real heroes among the different realities. I want to shine in the eyes of everyone around the multiverse, bringing equality and peace to everywhere I go."

Fox only nods at that. "So that's your true reason of why you fight. I guess that you are worth being trusted, Richard. You're right before, about the two of us never being together for long, yet forging a friendly bond between each other in the same time. I heard how you treated your teammates like they were your own lives, and you never once did stop encouraging the allies around you. That is why I asked you that question before. Do you value me above everyone else, and see others like disposable trash or unworthy people, or do you show that you want to prevent misery and suffering, by bringing whoever is necessary with you."

"Hm..." I only smirked at what Fox said. "Maybe I could be lying, that I wanted you to be pawn. It could be very possible, and I could be as evil as whoever created the Aparoids were."

"But if you were, you wouldn't care for the other people. You won't save the mother and her son in Corneria, and you wouldn't even object to sacrificing your teammates for your goals. That is why... I believe that you and I have the same cause and ideals, and so, by following you, I can forge a new path, to go beyond my own father's." Fox only replied with a sly grin.

"Hahaha... That's what I like of you, Fox. You can read the atmosphere, and say the right things. A person like you, should be with me." I laughed.

As soon as the phrase ended, time stopped all around me again, as evident by the sudden change of the world turning grey-scale around me, as another prompt appeared.

 **You have earned the ability, 'A Heart Of Gold and Words of Peace'**

 **This ability allows you to increase your social abilities, making you more likely to gain the appeal, respect and interest of others. The current bonus of the ability allows you to gain 10% more positive rapport with others in social actions, and 10% less negative rapport with others in the same situations.**

I only began to read the description of my new-found ability, only to find myself nodding slightly. To be honest with myself... I wasn't exactly a social butterfly. After all being a boy who have come from a world, where every fictional mean is a dream for a person interested in them.

Back when I was a normal boy, although I never did neglect my friends too much, I never truly socialised with them. That is because I could never find anything interesting that we could talk about. It was much worse with my fellow students, and other people, as I seldom say anything more than a few greetings and what I need to answer. Even Gus never did get much social attention from me.

But now that I have become a multiversal hero, things have changed drastically. It's not that I have to be social now. I MUST be social, and show care for my allies and friends, if I'm to gain their trust and respect. With this, I can at least train myself to become social. This skill either appeared by coincidence, or a year being with Link, Zelda and Impa, and the Hyruliean Army has finally paid off, and that is why I can finally persuade and converse with others effectively.

I soon will the window to close, as the world around me returned back to normal.

"So, mind if I ask, have you said your farewells with your team, Fox?" I asked him. "You're not going to be back in your universe for a long time indeed."

"I did. It's best I do not repeat what they said when I was going to leave, but I can tell you that Falco was actually sad for once, despite him become the actual top ace of my team, if whatever copy of me you're going to send to them, is almost exactly like me. Krystal actually gave a farewell kiss, and we traded words about promising that I will come back to her alive and well, and she threatened to tear you to shreds if I died. Slippy only bawled his eyes out. After all, I was the closest to him, except his own dear pops." Fox explained.

"I see... I wasn't expecting these reactions from your team honestly, considering how I know their personalities." I replied.

"So, where to next, my ally, Richard?" Fox said, as he crosses his arms over.

"We're about to head back to the Core, and prepare for any other worlds we need to travel to." I answered back "Maybe there, the Creator will provide you some new gear to make you stronger than ever. I might actually get her to upgrade your Arwing to be like mine."

"Heh, I wonder what I can do with a fighter like yours, if you can do so much with it." Fox mused.

"We'll have to see." I replied, as I pulled out Vai, who has been asleep in my pocket ever since I last communicated with the Creator. "Hey, Vai, sorry to ruin your sleep, but I need your help."

Vai only wiggles around a bit in my palm, before flying up. "It's alright, Richard. I've had a good rest in your pockets. I've recharged my energy in my rest, and I'm 100% ready to help you any way possible." She said.

Vai soon then flies up, as Fox watches her with curiosity, as she creates a screen as a mean to communicate, in her own way, with a lot of fairy dust and magic. Soon enough, the screen reveals the Creator looking at us, from the Core.

"I'm glad to see that you're still alive and fine, Richard." The Creator spoke. "So, have you managed to recruit Fox?"

"Of course, I did. He's right there before you, looking at you like he's seen a miracle." I replied.

Fox only snaps out of his daze, before then speaking. "So, you're the Creator? I heard from Richard, that you're the person who has been helping him in becoming a hero. Never thought it would be some sort of cosmic being like you. By the way, I hate to admit it, but you're as pretty as Krystal."

The Creator only smiles. "Why thank you, Fox." She thanked him. "Yes, I am his supporter. But I am also the being who has been trying to preserve balance in life and existence in every corner of the multiverse. I have sent him here, because the Darkness has tried to find a way to cause problems for you. If they managed to succeed, your universe could have been wiped out."

"Wow. So you and Richard saved billions of lives with your actions?" Fox replied, before turning to me. "Richard, I don't think you're some normal kid. You must be some sort of ancient hero pulled out of some novel or game. There's no way you would be that young, and done all this with this little help."

"He's not. He's basically like the citizens down in the other planets. He's normal in your standards, but it's through training and understanding that he has become stronger. His own potential and learning speed are astronomical, and that's why he's as strong as he is now. He's far from being a respected hero, but that's why he's been trying to get heroes like you to join him, so that he can work with them to become a beacon of hope for everyone." The Creator denied Fox's opinion.

"So, with much praise and honour, Creator. I request for permission to return to the Core, and prepare for our next battle against the Darkness." I asked politely.

"I'll do that, but not before I tell you something, Richard." The Creator told me, with a strict tone and a frown.

"I... Sorry if I asked too early." I replied apologetically. "What is it that you have to tell me?"

"I have to tell you that I'm forbidding any more missions for now." The Creator told in a sorrid tone.

"What!? But... the Darkness!?" I blurted out, hearing this. "You can't possibly be leaving them to their own devices, right? Right!?"

"I'm sorry." The Creator told me in a sorrid tone. "But you're still too inexperienced to battle against the Darkness for now. You may be able to fend off their weakest vanguard, but once the stronger elites of the Darkness come, you'll stand no chance, and die. That is why I have asked Yukari Yakumo, to assist you in training and becoming the hero you must become. You will be heading for Gensokyo shortly after you arrive at the Core."

"I see... So that's..." I said, before realising what she said. "Wait WHAT!? You actually mean, YUKARI FUCKING YAKUMO is going to be training me!?"

"Yes, but do not be mistaken. She is actually one of the Yukari's that have managed to gain the power to travel around to different realities, and her home universe is in the same mulitverse that you and I live in. She is also one of my allies, and has been fighting against the Darkness, with only I and herself knowing this." The Creator continued to explain. "So, in a kind of sense, she knows about you, and decides that you need to train up in Gensokyo.

"...Ahaha... You're serious. I'm heading to Gensokyo... for training!?" I asked frantically. "You're not joking, right? Any Yukari I would know, would so easily accept a person like me to be in Gensokyo. I could only predict how she would either mock me, show hostility, or even joke around with me."

"That is correct. Gensokyo is the most ideal place, where you'll be able to train. There are youkai everywhere, to hone and test your skills, and every aspect of any society, technological, supernatural, or traditional, exist here, in different places, so you'll learn how to fit into each, considering how you only barely fitted in the Hyruliean army previously. You won't be only trained by Yukari, but also many others in the lands. If you're to become stronger all together, you must hone every aspect of your abilities and powers." The Creator answered me back. "Antonio, Gus, Fox and Link will be heading for you, since they will be your supporters, and they will get their training, living in this land, so that they too will become as strong as you."

"I... see..." I replied with slight ease.

Soon enough, a golden portal appeared in front of the entire group, showing the Core on the other side.

"Well, time to leave..." I said to everyone. "Are you sure you've really said all you need to the people, Fox? Once we leave, we're not coming back for a long time."

"I know, and I have made sure that there will be no problems." Fox replied.

"Then let's head to your new base, Fox. You'll find that it is quite nice." I said.

"Don't worry, Fox, we'll be there for you. You may be away from your team, but you'll be fine with us and Richard." Antonio assured Fox, with a arm around the latter's shoulder.

Link only smiles at Fox, as Zelda approaches him. "I'm sure that you'll find us to be good companions. After all, we've been with Richard for a while, and he's kind and fair for everyone with him."

We soon enter the portal, as we disappear from the universe, with Fox taking a last look at his universe, before entering it all the way through, as it closes behind us.

 **WORLD COMPLETE!**

 **25000 Multiversal Essence is rewarded as for completion.**

* * *

 _In the Core..._

When our feet touched the stone ground of the Core again, we saw the Creator, Ares, Fuxi, and Mimir standing together, as Ares approaches him with a smile.

"Heya, Richard. Heard you managed to give Lingyue a pounding he'll never forget." Ares complimented me. "That bastard was really getting on our nerves, and I feel better when you defeated him without us supporting you."

"Wait, you know that General of the Darkness?" I asked in surprise.

"We do." Mimir replied in turn. "Lingyue is the most arrogant General out of the five, but his arrogance is backed up by his power. He may have been destroyed, but he'll return. After all, we've been fighting him for countless millennia, and he never stopped causing problems for us."

"I know... It's a sad truth that we have to face." I commented. "By the way, who is Thieon? I found his name in the plans of the Aparoid lair."

Fuxi visibly grimaced at that, before replying to me "Thieon is another General of the Darkness. His knowledge and wisdom far exceeds even Mimir, and his magic prowess is so strong, that no-one in any of the universes could even stand a chance against him, when he begins to cast his signature spells. If his name is found, then there's not long until he reappears... And when he does, there will be seldom hope for the universe he targets..."

I only remain silent after that, before the Creator approached me.

"There is also one more thing that I have to ask of you, Richard." The Creator told me. "Since the Darkness are an growing force, as a organisation, we will need to create our own to counter them. With the masses of heroes that will join us, we will need to find a way to create a hierarchy and order for us to manage them."

"I wouldn't disagree with that... Most heroes have a few parties, but for a mulitversal beacon of hope like me... We'll need everyone we can count on." I replied to her. "Can you form a organisation for us? Once we get our armies, we'll need to have a name."

"Then what is the name that you'll suggest?" The Creator asked.

I then began to ponder about names for my organisations.

 _How about I call my organisation Zhao Force_ I thought. _No... I can't have my name in it, if it's to sound like a proud organisation. United Heros? It sounds nice, but not everyone in my team is a hero. How about..._

"How about we go with the name... Mulitversal Saviours?" I asked her.

The Creator smiles at me. "Then it's decided. From this day forth, the organisation of Mulitversal Saviours will be created, and founded by Richard Zhao Liu, and I, the Creator. May all the heroes learn of this name, and praise it as a beacon of hope around the entire multiverse."

The Creator then slams the ground with her staff, before a flag appears above the centre of the core, with a insignia bearing a large white shield, with a silver broadsword inserted in the centre of a golden chi symbol, and lights in the colour of the rainbow, and black and white, are pouring out of the chi symbol.

"Don't worry, Richard. With us by your side, we won't lose to anyone!" Ares boasted.

"You'll have my help always, Richard. Never forget that, and keep on spreading hope among the mulitverse." Mimir said to me.

"I may not be good at complimenting someone, but I can tell you that I will fight for your cause." Fuxi replied.

"With everyone's help, we will bring peace and salvation to the multiverse!" Link added.

"I pray that no-one will have to suffer, now that we have become a single organisation dedicated to protect others." Zelda stated.

"I'm sure that we will be a good team under this banner. I will march as a member of the Multiversal Saviours proudly, knowing that I am serving a just cause." Impa stated.

"With this, I sound much more awesome! Don't worry, Richard, I'll make sure everyone knows one of the fastest beings alive is in the Multiversal Saviours!" Antonio bragged.

"Congratulations, Richard. I'm proud to see that you have become a leader. I'll work hard to make sure that the both of us will be able to contribute to saving the multiverse." Gus congratulated me.

"Heh. So, that's your new team's name. Mulitversal Saviours... I like the sound of that. It makes me feel like that I'm a hero, when I'm just a mercenary." Fox smirked.

"You guys... Thank you." I said, feeling joy and happiness at being united under a similar cause.

And so... my adventure as a lone mulitversal saviour ends, and my mission as the leader of the Multiversal Saviours begins...

"Alright, everyone, let's work together to save the multiverse!" I shouted out.

* * *

 _In a unknown space..._

Through a gap, a mature woman with purple eyes and long blonde hair, is watching everything in the Core, holding a pink lace parasol in one hand, and a sakura pattern paper fan on the other, and dressed in a deep purple dress, a pale pink mob cap with a thin red ribbon, and smaller ribbons tied on her accessories and the tips of her hair, and purple high-heels.

"So... This is the new multiversal saviour?" The woman spoke in a mature tone, with a smile. "He's quite interesting, by the looks of it. Someone that is as pure and kind as him, yet also clever, would sound like a perfect match for a certain shrine maiden that I know..."

The woman then closes her fan, as she then closes the gap, floating around in her own dimension.

"I have a lot to prepare for. After all, I like to see what the boy is capable of, before I go around, and begin training him. Perhaps even meet him beforehand, and drop him over the Hakurei shrine? Fufufu..." The mysterious lady chuckled.

"But then again, I already have found someone to suit him. She's exactly like him, and knows what is in his mind. I'm sure that under her mentorship, his mind will be twisted in directions that even I cannot find out. Scary scary~ I might actually be the 'good cop' in this scenario, as she will be the 'bad cop', in this game of 'good cop, bad cop'. Of is it, really like that~? She's not all that nasty, but me? Fufufu~ I might enjoy toying with this boy, as she will enjoy tutoring the little boy."

"Isn't that right, my dear mage?"

* * *

A/N: And that's the end of the first volume of Richard's story, Mulitversal Chaos: Beginnings of Time. I never planned to split Richard's story into volumes, but I think that splitting the arcs into different volumes would make the story easier to read.

The next volume to come is Multiversal Chaos: Path of the Saviour, which will be much longer than the first volume, with 4-5 arcs in it, with the first being, of course, Richard's training in Gensokyo.

See you next volume, everyone! And don't forget to review, if you got anything to say to me, unless you prefer to PM me.

Update (IMPORTANT!): Due to a stupid mistake, Chapter 9: The Saviour and the Flash will undergo a re-writing, in order to fix things up, since said chapter is a repeat of Chapter 10. I apologise for any inconvenience that may result, but I take responsibility for this act.


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